Rachel Plays with Fire
by the stargate time traveller
Summary: AU Of season 2 . After her niece is found dead, Rachel finds someone isn't who he appears to be... No Sean or Dominic.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer - I don't own Scott & Bailey. I love the work of the talented actors and actresses who make up the cast, work the gritty plotlines and intrigue. I wanted to put this story up to celebrate the Third Season. This is an AU of the second, so I truly hope it'll go down well. **

**Please R&R, I hope you enjoy. **

**Rachel Plays with Fire. **

**The Body of a Relative. **

No-one in the office was surprised when DC Rachel Bailey stumbled in late, but this time she wasn't pissed. Just late. In fact she was dressed smartly instead of haphazardly as she usually appeared, and her hair was in a long dark plait. Her best friend, DC Janet Scott was the exact opposite; she was pissed completely. Her eyes were tired and she appeared to be on the verge of collapsing. Her face looked like a giant was squeezing her skull. Rachel was holding onto her, talking to her quietly. Janet gave a tired smile.

From the other side of the room DS Andy Roper watched. He ignored Rachel because he wasn't really bothered by her. No, it was Janet he was interested in.

DCI Gill Murray smashing her office door open to get out made everyone jump, and had Janet wishing she'd taken in more paracetamol earlier. She held back a groan. Gill scanned the room briefly to make sure everyone was present and correct. Everyone except Kevin was in. Not a surprise. He had an appendicitis. Though she relished the prospect of peace and quiet, Gill missed him dreadfully. The office seemed dull without the joker here. She shook herself to get down to business. " Right, settle down," she said loudly though everyone had been silenced the moment Gill had come out of her dungeon. " A body's come in. A girl, believed to be aged between 11 and 13, found in the early hours this morning with a bullet in the head, she was wearing a pair of running trousers and trainers, and a light jumper meaning she was going jogging. I'm going in to see Scary Mary for more info. Andy will be in charge 'til I get back. Okay?" She asked, turning to face Andy.

" No problem." Andy replied obediently. If you wanted a quiet life with Gill Murray, you needed to learn now to agree with her moods.

Gill held up a piece of paper. " Before I go, I want you to familarise yourselves with her. Remember, she's 12, and its important we track down her family." She glanced down at the picture. " God, she looks familiar," she murmured to herself before passing the picture onto Janet, shrugging to herself, who was the closest to her since Andy was on the other wall.

Janet took it, Gill noting her friend's appearance. If she hadn't known better, she would've said she'd handed the picture over to a blonde version of Rachel. Janet looked at the picture for a long moment, frowning. Her eyes widened, and she turned to her best friend.

" Come on Jan, don't keep the picture to yourself," Rachel chided her gently. Janet's eyes went back to the picture, then back to Rachel. Janet held the picture up, covering Rachel's face with the copy, and then lowered it. Rachel was starting to get scared and more than a little annoyed. " Janet, what's wrong?"

" The girl looks like you, see for yourself," Janet said, handing the picture over to Rachel. With some foreboding, Rachel took the picture. She stared at in with disbelief. " No," she whispered. " It can't be, it just can't...," she gasped in horror. Rachel swallowed when she realised the entire office was staring at her, waiting apprehensively.

" It's Holly," she gasped. " My niece. She's 12 years old." Now the cat was out of the bag, Rachel kept shaking her head, occasionally hitting herself with her plait. " What the fuck was she doing? Who killed her?"

Gill licked her lips. She herself had thought the girl looked familiar, but Janet had made the connection. Either she was going senile, or she was getting on a bit, she didn't like the idea especially when her one of her DC's niece was lying dead on a cold metal slab. " We'll find out, Rachel." She said quietly. Rachel smiled shakily at her boss, nodding in reply, but Gill wondered if her young DC was even listening. " I know," she replied. " Alison, my sister. I need to tell her."

Gill nodded. " Go."

As Rachel stood up shakily, Janet reached over and rested a hand on her arm. " I'm sorry, Rach."

" Thanks, Jan," Rachel tried to smile, but it came out more of a grimace.

* * *

The drive to Alison's didn't help calm Rachel's nerves. She spent most of the journey to her sister's wondering how she was going to break the news to Alison. Rachel normally would have no trouble finding the right words, they were practically taught from the moment you joined the police, though she would occasionally put her foot in her mouth in her directness. Rachel herself had said them time and again without seizing up in tears. But this was different. This was Holly, her niece. Her 12 year old niece.

Rachel felt tears well in her eyes again. She just couldn't take it in, but now she was driving to Alison's place she couldn't help but wonder what the hell had seen Holly killed, by a bullet no less. Rachel had seen gun shot wounds before, but she couldn't understand why someone would use such a final solution on Holly. As far as Rachel knew the girl was harmless. Holly was doing okay at school, she was a bright lass, she had good friends and a good homelife. So why the fucking hell was she gunned down in the street? Could it have been random, or was it something bigger? Then her heart seized. As far as Rachel knew, her mind repeated. The last time Rachel had seen, truly seen her niece, was on the girl's 11th birthday, and even that was forced on her. Rachel had thrown herself into her work, as usual. Alison knew her sister was ambitious, wanted to go places, be successful. But the cost was just too high, and Rachel realised in agony it was a cost too late to pay up. Holly was dead, truly dead. She would never see her niece grow older than 12, never see her smile, or hear her laugh.

" Fuck," she whispered to herself. " What the hell have I done? I've ignored my own niece for a year, barely said anything to her and her mother, and now she's dead."

Rachel couldn't understand it, what had Holly done recently to get herself shot?

* * *

Despite getting to Alison's home in record time, though Rachel had prayed there was congestion in the roads so then she could avoid this whole thing, Rachel didn't get out of her car for a good twenty minutes. She smoked a cigarette, and pinched herself to make sure this wasn't some fucking hideous dream.

It wasn't.

When she was finished with her cigarette, which seemed to take less time than normal, Rachel cursed, and reached into her handbag. She took out a handful of mints so her sister wouldn't realise she'd been smoking heavily, and washed them down with a bottle of water she kept in her car. So much for looking and feeling professional for a change, like she had this morning. By this time tomorrow, she would be back to normal.

" Christ," she whispered. The moment of truth.

Rachel had to blink at how quickly it had taken her to walk up to her sister's front door. She knocked, praying Alison wasn't in. It wasn't meant to be. The door opened and Alison stood in the doorway. The moment she saw her little sister standing on the doorstep, Alison's face lit up though Rachel was sharp enough to see the subtle hint of confusion in her eyes.

" Rach, how are ya? What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?" Alison asked, her smile fading when she saw her sisters expression. " What's wrong?"

Rachel's eyes teared up, and her professionalism faded when she suddenly shot forward and hugged her surprised sister. Alison slowly hugged Rachel back as the younger woman sobbed. It took an eternity for Rachel to stop crying, but it was long enough for Alison to become very worried.

" Rachel," Alison began, her voice showing a patience she didn't really feel. " What's wrong?"

" I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry Alison. Can I come in, Ali? I've got bad news. It's about Holly," Rachel said quietly.

Alison's eyes widened, and she let her sister inside. Rachel watched her older sister work around the kitchen, making two cups of tea to keep her busy. Rachel let her. Alison's hands shook as she came over with their tea. Rachel took hers automatically like it was a lifeline, sipping it without tasting it. She gulped it down noisily to try and steady her nerves to delay the inevitable as long as possible, though she knew Alison was on tenderhooks, and she didn't need that, not with what had happened. She didn't look away from Alison, who was shaking with nerves. Rachel put the mug down, and gazed at Alison. " A girl was found this morning. A 12 year old. She'd been shot." Rachel wanted to look away from Alison as she said that, but she couldn't. Her sister looked like she was about one step away from having a complete breakdown. She now had a good idea who that girl was. Her sister completed the nightmare. " It was Holly." Rachel finished.

The first thing Alison tried to do was babble and deny it. " No," she shook her head desperately, " it couldn't be. Maybe you got it wrong-"

" I identified the body from the picture myself," Rachel interrupted brusquely, blinking rapidly to stop herself from breaking down. Rachel hated herself at once at the sight of Alison when she'd told her sister she'd identified the body for herself, but she had no choice unless she wanted to hear her sister say something that wasn't true." They already had pictures taken of Holly by then. It was definitely her."

That did it. Alison broke down sobbing her heart out.

" Oh, dear god," Rachel moaned, feeling herself lose control. She hugged her Alison, and they both cried.

* * *

" Who did it? Why did they do it?" Alison asked.

Rachel sighed. " I dunno. I'm heading back to the office soon, but first I wanna know somemat." Rachel looked down awkwardly. " I know I haven't seen Holly in a while," she began, cursing herself for sounding apologetic and hesitant. " Has she shown any signs of, I dunno. Shiftiness, like she's trying to hide something?"

Rachel felt guilty for having to ask her own sister these kind of questions, but if they wanted to find and catch the bastard who murdered Holly Alison needed to answer some difficult questions. Alison sagged. " Something has been going on with her for months now," she admitted slowly. " She would come home from school late, and once I caught her hiding something in her room. She's also made sure I drop her off at school and pick her up again, but she won't say why. Most kids nowadays just want to go to school on their own, to make them feel grown up. I just took it down as Holly wanting to spend more time with me, though Tony has sometimes taken her and brought her back."

Rachel stood up. " Do you mind if I take a look in her room?"

" No, in fact I'll join you." The look on Alison's face stopped any argument.

* * *

Holly's room was like any other preteen girl. There were photos and posters on the dark purple walls. The bed was a mass of covers and sheets, and there were clothes all over. Holly's Mac was on a desk by the window. Rachel's eyes were drawn to the photograph on the bedside table. She remembered that day, it had been where Rachel had taken Holly on her 7th birthday to an amusement park. Rachel couldn't take her eyes off Holly's face. She was glowing with happiness and wrapped around her aunt with a grin. A stick of candy floss was clutched in Holly's hand. Rachel swallowed. It was...so hard for her to admit her niece was dead now.

Alison stayed out of the way, knowing this room was pretty much a crime scene. " It was by her bed, I saw her put something in a shoebox, but I couldn't find it again."

Rachel nodded, her hands putting on latex gloves on their own. She slipped into DC Bailey mode, and kept her feelings out of the loop. It wouldn't help Holly if she broke down again in her room, but it was hard. She was just about to search her own niece's room, and Alison herself was watching after admitting to her sister Holly had been acting strangely.

Deciding to start in the wardrobe as it was more easier to hide something in there than in any part of the room, Rachel had to ignore the clothes she'd seen Holly wear. It was hard to believe Holly was dead, it just didn't seem believeable. The extent of it had gone over Rachel's head. Rachel took her time searching the wardrobe. She checked the whole thing from top to bottom. She checked the very top and found nothing. Rachel checked the inside of the wardrobe, pushing things aside and looking inside plastic bags but she found nothing incriminating.

" Did she go out at all Alison?" Rachel asked as she worked. " We found her in the early hours of the morning, and how come you didn't report her missing?"

Alison looked sheepish. " She's been going jogging recently, that's why I didn't say anything. She's been doing it a lot recently. And, answering your first question, she's been coming home straight from school, getting changed quickly and heading out again with her backpack. It's down there." Alison pointed.

Rachel turned when she saw the backpack in question. It was close to the bed. " I'll look at that in the minute. I think I've found something," she said, pulling a shoebox out. " Is this it?" Rachel asked. It was a typical Addidas shoebox. She looked up at Alison. Her sister nodded. " That's it," she whispered.

Rachel opened the box and peered inside. She took out a piece of paper.

* * *

**Author's note. What do you think? Please leave feedback.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Rachel Plays with Fire. **

**The DVD. **

" There's something here on this note. It's like an instruction, Look in The Girl who plays with fire book for IT." Rachel said.

Rachel turned to the bookcase. She remembered how Holly had begged her for the complete collection of Stieg Larsson's books chronicling Lisbeth Salander. Rachel had bought the lot, and apparently Holly had devoured the whole trilogy. She'd never been seen without one of the books since. But Rachel had a more important question in mind. What the hell was IT? What could be so important Holly would go to such lengths to hide something in a book of all things? Though it made sense, if it was vital then she couldn't put it on her computer with all those hackers in the world.

Taking the book off the shelf, Rachel found IT quickly. It was a disc in a plastic folder. " What the hell?" She whispered. Seeing writing on the disc, she read with growing astonishment.

* * *

Gill looked up when she saw Rachel come into the office, looking depressed and puzzled at the same time as she threw a kids backpack on her desk. Gill watched her sympathetically. Despite often giving Rachel agro, she was genuinely fond of her. Rachel was like Gill in many ways when the latter was a DC herself; she was always drunk sometimes, looked like shit, and sometimes had her brain somewhere else. Gill wasn't blind, she knew Rachel was ambitious, knew Rachel was good and someday would be fantastic at what she did. Gill could see Rachel becoming a great DCI, if she stopped acting a little stupid. Sometimes Rachel would come to her for advice, and sometimes Gill would give it generously and freely, but sometimes she would always tell Rachel to do what she thought was best.

" How was Alison?" Gill asked, not bothering to add why she'd taken her time coming back. This wasn't your usual case for Rachel, this was something personal. Police policy was to stop that at all costs, but Gill wasn't going to do that with Rachel. It would just make the DC more determined to find out the truth.

" She broke down as I searched Holly's room." Rachel came over to stand in front of Gill. " There was a note in a shoebox, but there's this." Rachel held up the disc. Gill read, FOR DC RACHEL BAILEY.

" I think Holly was onto something. I've brought her backpack in as well. I found that disc in a book." Rachel said.

* * *

Rachel felt nervous as everyone sat in the briefing room to view the disc. It wasn't everyday the whole of the syndicate watched a DVD like this, and since it was vital evidence to the case, something that rarely happened in their line of work as it was so early in a case.

Janet rested her hand on Rachel's arm. " How're you feeling?" Janet knew it was a daft question but she couldn't think of anything else to say to her best friend.

Rachel sighed. " Why did I never see her Jan?" She asked quietly, and her dejection frightened Janet. " I had so many opportunities, but I didn't take 'em. What must she have felt her aunt didn't want to see her?"

" Don't say that, Rach!" Janet retorted fiercely, squeezing her friend's arm painfully. " It wasn't your fault."

" Then whose fault is it Jan?" Rachel asked, her eyes watering. " I was only invited to Alison's for dinner last Tuesday, but I didn't go. Instead I got drunk. I could've spent a night with her, laughed at her stories, and she could've told me. If I had then Holly would still be alive now and this case would be solved without her lying on a slab down at the mortuary. What kind of Aunt am I? If I had gone, maybe Holly would've confided in me, and she'd be alive today instead of lying dead with a bullet through her skull. I'm supposed to be a police officer-," she sniffed back the urge to cry.

" Yes, and your job is to look for the greater public," Janet replied quietly. " Rachel, how do you think I feel? I've got Elise and Taisie, and I worry about them everyday. I do long hours and I hardly see them unless its to shout at them or greet them in the mornings-"

" Janet-"

" No, you listen to me, Rachel Bailey. Don't you dare think Holly never understood what you were doing-" Janet snapped. How can Rachel think her niece believed her aunt would rather be working than be with her?

" Janet," Rachel said more forcefully, face scrunched up in pain.

" What?" Janet asked impatiently.

" One," Rachel breathed in agony. " everyone is in the room staring at us, and the boss looks ready to go mad if we don't start soon. And two," Rachel closed her eyes in physical pain, " you're crushing my arm."

" What?" Janet glanced down to where her hand had been on Rachel's arm. She gasped when she saw the finger marks on the smooth skin under Rachel's t-shirt. " Oh, shit. I'm so sorry, Rach." She let go at once.

Rachel gasped. " Thanks, Jan. It's okay."

" Now that's all settled," Gill began professionally, " maybe we can begin." She turned to Rachel, nodding at Janet. " She's right, by the way. Don't blame yourself for Holly's murder, I doubt she'd want that."

Rachel gave a pained smile, but it didn't help. She still felt so guilty about Holly for never really being there in her life. Now she looked back she could see and say with absolute certainty she'd seemed more like an occasional visitor to Alisons. It was painful for Rachel this had to happen. She swore there and then to always think about Holly's death to remind herself never to take those she cared about for granted again, for in this job she wasn't even sure they'd be around forever. Suppose someone killed Alison, and what about Janet? Rachel would never forget the days where her best friend was stabbed by that piece of shit Geoff Hastings and put in A&E. Her good for nothing except bollocking husband rarely came, but luckily Elise and Taisie came with their gran, and Rachel would sit and talk with them and discuss one sided things with Janet to keep herself sane. The sounds of the life support machines had driven her fucking crazy. What would happen to Jan if one of the girls would end up in hospital? Janet would go apeshit.

Rachel took deep breaths. Thinking about herself wasn't the way. She nodded at Gill. Godzilla stared at her for a long moment, but Rachel couldn't say what Gill was thinking. Finally Gill pressed play on the remote.

A picture of a very much alive Holly Bailey appeared. Everyone was startled by how much she resembled Rachel, and it was hard to believe this girl was the same one lying on a cold metal slab in the mortuary at Scary Mary's mercy with a bullet hole in her brain.

Holly smiled, then frowned thoughtfully at the computer. Everyone could see the furrowed brow, and the sign of a Bailey in thinking mode, " Is this fucking thing on?" She asked quietly, flicking the screen of her computer to see if the camera was recording properly.

Everyone laughed quietly, before remembering the aunt of this girl was in the room with them. One of two of the officers present - Gill, Janet, Pete, Mitch, and Lee, glanced at Rachel sympathetically, wishing this wasn't happening to her. Holly even sounded like Rachel when she was speaking. Rachel's eyes watered at the sight and sound of her niece's face and voice as it spoke. " Language, Holly," Rachel chided quietly, and no one in the room had the courage to rebuke her for interrupting a dead girl.

Janet leant over and whispered. " Definitely your niece."

Rachel gave a wet chuckle. Satisified her camera was working properly, Holly smiled at the screen. " Anyway, if anyone's watching this then you'd better give it to DC Rachel Bailey, my auntie who works in MIT. Best auntie in the world, wonderful if you want to go horse riding or spend the night going out to the cinema, though she might fall off, except when she gets pissed beyond belief." Everyone chuckled at the deadpan sentence, Rachel growled at the horse riding part. Janet smiled at the pride in Holly's voice. So much for Rachel thinking Holly resented her and her job. It vanished when Holly continued, her voice becoming grimmer and her smile faded. " I knew if anything happened to me then my body would be found. Just like I knew MIT would be called in when it was found out who I was."

Everyone in the room except for one felt a chill go down their collective spines. Holly knew something would happen to her...? Rachel was frozen stiff with dread. Sensing eyes boring into her, she turned to find herself looking at Gill. Her boss's face was soft and caring, but questioning. Rachel shrugged. She had no idea this was on the disc. Come to that what other horrors awaited her?

Holly or the recording of Holly carried on. " I knew the box with the note in it would be found, so I kept it in a place where me mam wouldn't find it. Hell, I even made sure she saw it." Holly shook her chocolate coloured hair. " God, that box was hard to hide after that, but I managed it if you found this disc. This is important, please give this DVD to my aunt. She needs to know something important."

What Holly said next stunned the whole office.

" A few months ago, a friend of mine at school disappeared for a few days then came back. She was one of many, and its not just my school, either. I've met people from other school's who've noticed the same thing. Girls go missing for two days or so, and then they come back. That's the weird thing about all this. They keep coming back. Uniform was called in but it made no difference as they wouldn't tell us what they'd found out, but the girls would return a day or so later. They also changed. Michelle, my friend, seemed different. Vacant. All the others were like that, they also wouldn't speak to anyone else unless they knew that girl was like them. I tried speaking to them, hell we all did. But they seemed terrified, and they would always look around, as if expecting someone to jump out on them. These disappearances were random, at least I think they were. I'm not sure. They might've been planned, but I dunno because I was focused on other things. So I followed Michelle, and I found she'd become a prostitute. I watched her for a few days doing the same things, she would parade up and down a few streets and get into a car to a rented room.

" I asked her parents about how she was, but I made sure to keep what she was doing a secret. They wouldn't have believed a word of it anyways, so what was the point? I just asked what they were doing, they said Michelle was out with friends. They then asked why I wasn't with her, so I just made it up by saying I was supposed to be with her, but I'd missed her. I borrowed me dad's camera and took pictures of her. I've got quite a collection in my camera. I've followed the girls back to their pimps and I photographed them. I followed them around a bit. Auntie Rach," Holly said fearfully, whispering. " I think they're on to me. I don't think they know who's taking pictures of them, but I think they've cottoned on to the fact I'm spying on them, that they are following me, they might even know where I live. I'm scared, Auntie. I've seen these guys, and their brutes. They're like apes who've shaven themselves, but they're huge. And threatening. I saw one of them beat a girl up."

Rachel was shaking her head, bemused about her niece's lack of initiative. Why hadn't Holly come to her with this? She was a police officer for fucks sake! Didn't Holly trust her with any of this stuff?

As though she'd predicted her aunt's thought processes from beyond the grave, or slab as the case may be, Holly carried on. " And if my impossible Aunt is wondering why I never came to her, here's my answer. I wanted to be a good cop. I wanted to give you everything on a silver platter, although I think I've bollocksed everything up by not coming to you."

" Too right you haven't kid," Rachel whispered. She was furious, with herself. With Holly. Why hadn't Holly used her common sense and come to her first? Rachel and other police officers were trained in these things. Holly wasn't.

" Anyway," Holly changed tack. " If you're watching this, something has happened to me." Sadness crept into Holly's face. " I love ya, Auntie Rach."

That did it. Rachel sank her head in her hands, and started to cry her eyes out in front of everyone. Everyone watched her sympathetically, no one commented or thought any less of Rachel Bailey crying, someone who tried so hard to put out a strong and tough facade to the world. Except one. Janet wrapped her arms around her best friend's shoulders, tears in her own eyes, and drew her into her embrace, letting Rachel cry her eyes out on her workclothes. Janet was soon joined by Gill, who came over quietly, gazing down at the sobbing DC sympathetically. Forgetting the reputation she'd built up of herself as a queen bitch, everyone watched sadly as Gill bent down and lightly embraced Rachel.

Janet opened her eyes, and her eyes caught the sight of Andy. Whilst the others were looking at Rachel sympathetically for her loss, Pete's eyes were glistening, Andy was looking between the picture of Holly and at Rachel with an expression Janet wasn't able to read, but she didn't like it. Janet knew Andy didn't like Rachel, but she thought he could've cared more about her when she was in this state.

She became aware that Rachel was muttering, and she moved back a little bit so she could hear her friend better.

" Those bastards murdered her...I'll fucking kill them," Rachel sobbed, strugging to get out of the double embrace. Janet held on tight, but Gill let go.

" Let her go, Jan." Gill ordered.

" But-"

" Let her go," Gill repeated. " Rachel?"

Sniffling Rachel turned to Gill, " Boss?"

" Go home, kid. Take the film with you, and watch it. Since your Holly's aunt I want you to investigate this case, but I want you to report to me everything."

This was too much for Andy. " Gill, we can't have evidence out of the office-"

" This is my decision DS Roper," Gill argued back before turning back to Rachel, and everyone was amazed to see her expression soften. " Take it, Rachel, but bring it back in one piece. I want you to go over it yourself so then we can build up a proper case. We're going to check with the schools in the area about the disappearance via uniform. It's time this ended."

Rachel was stunned by Gill's kindness. " Thank you, Ma'am."

Gill smiled. " Go. Now."

" Thanks." Rachel left the briefing room.

Andy wasn't going to let it go. " She shouldn't even be in this case, as its personal."

" That's precisely why she must stay on the case Andy," Gill replied calmly, eyeing her DS closely. She wasn't blind, she knew Andy didn't like Rachel for reasons she didn't know, but she hoped he might be a bit more sensitive, especially in this case.

Andy sneered at her. " Then again she's your favourite." He shot at her without even bothering to engage his brain.

Everyone in the room stopped breathing. No-one dared contradict Gill Murray and lived to talk about it.

" Explain that, DS Roper," Gill said quietly. Everyone backed away, fearing an eruption.

" Rachel Bailey shouldn't be here, ma'am," he added the last word as if he was showing respect. " She's an airhead. She doesn't think. She gets drunk."

" So do we when we've had a hard time." Mitch broke in, sending an apologetic look at Gill. The DCI sent him a generous smile as thanks. Mitch glared at Andy. " And she's not an airhead. Rachels a fucking good copper."

" He's right there, Andy," Janet snapped at the sergeant. " Rachel's far more than a copper. You're one of those textbook coppers, you look at the facts. Rachel does the opposite. She looks into the facts as well as other avenues. She gets results. She gets drunk 'cause that's who she is."

Andy's face grew angrier as he glared around the room. Everyone glared back at him in return. He realised he was alone in this whole thing. He was more angry with something else, and Janet could see it.

Question was, what was it?

When everyone got back, Janet saw the rucksack on Rachel's desk that belonged to Holly was gone.

So was Rachel.


	3. Chapter 3

**Rachel plays with Fire. **

**3. A Surprising Turn. **

The street was exactly how Holly had photographed it, and Rachel saw at once how it could be used for a preteen prostitute. Though she hated to admit it to herself, whoever was behind all this knew precisely how to organise themselves to keep out of the way of police cars and patrols. After she'd left the briefing Rachel had taken the stuff Holly had taken and took it home. It hadn't taken Rachel long to identify this street, she'd been down this way more times than she could count.

It was a rough neighbourhood, but it was a place where prostitutes came and went with punters. It was perfect for a preteen girl to hide and play the game, and who would look twice?

Rachel sat in her car, keeping the street in perfect view, waiting. She checked her watch. She'd been there for hours already, and she'd seen quite a few prostitutes on the street. Rachel watched as men in cars drove up and down the street, and she shook her head when she saw some of the girls ahead lean inside the windows.

For a long while Rachel was tempted to get out and have a smoke, but she decided against it. Michelle could be here any moment, and Rachel badly needed to speak to her and her parents in the same room. It was almost when Michelle finally appeared. Rachel had met Michelle briefly at Holly's 11th. She was a petite red head girl with rosy red cheeks that spoke of good humour. But the girl ahead couldn't have been her. Rachel had to look again to be sure it was.

The girl ahead was certainly a red head, but her face was caked in with makeup that made her look like a living doll. Michelle at the party had had a clear gaze, but this girl looked kind of dopey, half there.

Taking a deep breath, Rachel slowly drove towards her. This had to be quick.

* * *

At her home later that evening, Gill Murray was busy with paperwork. Sometimes the DCI would take her work with her so she could work on it in more cosy surroundings. It sometimes drove her son, Sammy up the wall, but Gill didn't care. Most police officers worked 24.7, and Gill wanted to maintain that reputation.

But tonight she was thinking about the present case, more specifically Holly Bailey. Gill frowned as she thought about the senseless way the niece of one of her best DCs had been murdered. The scene had been swept clean, but there were no witnesses. Nothing. If there was one thing she hated, it was working on a case with nothing to work with.

She was more worried about Rachel's wellbeing.

Rachel had always hidden her true feelings behind a tough mask, but this case had thrown her into turmoil. Gill didn't blame her. She'd feel the same way if Orla, or heavens forbid Sammy ended up dead the same way. Gill jumped when her phone pinged when a new text appeared. She checked the caller ID. It was from Rachel. It read. " Hi Boss, I'm outside. Can I come in? Need to talk with ya. Bye Rachel. XXX"

Gill got up and walked to the front door, and took a look outside. Rachel was definitely there. Gill opened it. " Hi, Rachel. What've you found?" She asked as she let the taller brunette inside her home. Leading her DC inside, Gill listened to her as she gave a summary of her day.

" I took Michelle home to her parents," Rachel was saying. " There I asked them if they knew anything from before or after Michelle was kidnapped, but they didn't. They called uniform, but the girl was back before any major leads were made."

Gill busied herself with tea. " Did you tell them about Holly?"

" Yeah. They were surprised, but Michelle was lucid enough to tell me what had happened, though she wants to stay with her parents. When she told me why I couldn't blame her. The girls are smothered by chloroform, and are raped and then introduced to hard drugs. Then they're taken to a place where they can be watched by a gang member called a supervisor. That's the bloke who takes their money, and gives them drugs as a reward. Michelle's parents were horrified, but it got worse when she told us that if they weren't given their money, or never even did their work, the girls would be beaten."

As a police officer Gill had seen and heard many horrifying things, but never anything like this. " I'll make sure the girls are protected. Anything else?" She asked, handing Rachel her tea before settling down with her own.

" I went to Holly and Michelle's school, told them the news, and asked for a list of girls who've been taken and then returned," Rachel said. " They gave me the list, and I've been chasing them up. I've done a few of 'em, and they say more or the less the same thing."

Gill nodded. " Right. We'll chase that up tomorrow." Rachel smiled tiredly, something Gill was sharp enough to pick up on. " Anything on Holly's killer?"

Rachel shook her head. " Nope. I've been focused on trying to find out more about the girls and the schools. I haven't had time to find anything about Holly just yet." She looked down guiltily, and Gill was quick to reassure her.

" Do that tomorrow," Gill ordered. " We'll do the rest."

" Thanks, Boss," Rachel whispered genuinely grateful.

Gill frowned for a moment. " You look tired. Too tired to go home by yourself. Stay here."

" I don't wanna put you out," Rachel tried.

" Rachel, I'm on my own here. Sammy's gone to Orla's, and I want you to stay. Come on, I'm not always generous."

Rachel smiled happily. " Thanks," she said shyly, raising her hand to drink her tea.

" What happened to your hand?" Gill asked in shock at the sight of Rachel's knuckles. Rachel looked down at her knuckles, and cursed. " It's nothing," she tried.

" Don't give me that, missy!" Gill retorted angrily. " What happened?"

Rachel sighed. " Do you remember when we went up to Bristol, and you told me about Nick Savage being let off?"

Gill nodded, thinking oh god, no. Please say she didn't decide to press it...

Rachel carried on. " Anyway, before that, I caught me brother Dom in bed with some bloke, for money that very morning. I kicked the bloke out of course, but I was furious with Dom. I was trying to help him get his life back on track, but the stupid bastard wasn't helping me. He went to our Alison, telling her I'd kicked him out when all I'd done was try and make him take a HIV test. Her Tony wasn't having him."

" What did Dom do? You said he was the black sheep, but what did you mean?" Gill asked.

Rachel sighed. " I didn't want you to know," she said honestly. " Dom, he's not the sharpest pencil in the world, and he went in with a gang that did an armed robbery. He was caught up in it, and he was convicted."

" You mean to tell me you had an ex con living with you?"

" He's not anymore. After he'd taken the HIV test, I had to send someone to make sure he did take it, he was cleared. That's the day I was scheduled to take my sergeants exam, and he celebrated by crashing my car. I got a call, went round to the hospital, and he was fine. I'd missed my exam for nothing. After that I kicked him out, I'd tried so hard to help him, and he'd ruined my chances, something I'd been working hard for ages to get." Rachel sighed. " When Geoff Hastings came back, frustrating Janet, she and I went out that night, I got drunk. I was so frustrated by what'd happened with my exam, plus Dom, and Nick." Rachel trailed off, looking frustrated. " That night, the same night I called to say Geoff Hastings had hidden those diaries in his mothers' grave, I punched a lamppost. Imagine my surprise when I found out from Janet what'd happened."

Gill chuckled. " It happens. It's not the end of the world, besides I think its a good thing that you've got an extra year to study up for your exams that'll come next year, plus you can pick up a few tricks of the trade. Just don't invite anymore idiots into your life, 'k kid?" Draining her mug, Gill stood up. " Come on, I'll take you to your room for tonight."

* * *

Rachel may've been dreading spending the night at Gill's place, but she found her fears were heedless. Rachel and Gill spent the morning learning more about the others moods and turns than they would've done in the office. Rachel had always assumed Gill was immaculate no matter where and when she was, but she wasn't. In the morning, Gill could be slack and dopey, but after a lot of caffeine she was her normal self. It took Gill an hour to get ready for work, and she was always dressed after breakfast.

Gill had known Rachel wasn't a morning person, and her stay over at her place was proof of that. Rachel hated early mornings, but when she'd woken up in a strange room she'd almost panicked before remembering the night before. She was at Godzilla's place. Because she hadn't been at her flat, Rachel didn't have a change of clothes, but it didn't worry either woman. Rachel used Gill's shower to make herself more presentable.

Rachel felt like a different more timely person at Gills than she did round her place, she just put it down to being at the bosses house.

When the two women left the house to go to their cars, they found an unpleasant surprise waiting for them.

There were two massive men, one of them was smaller than his compatriot, but both were bigger than either Gill or Rachel, both dressed in black or brown leather. The two police women could tell just by looking at them these thugs were crooks.

The shorter one jeered. " Look, its that bitch that picked up the little slut yesterday. DC Rachel Bailey, right? Boss said you'd be easy to find, looks like he were right. Eh, Matt?" He grinned toothily at his larger, balder friend. Rachel and Gill glanced at each other, a red flag going up in both their minds. How the hell did these thugs know who she was?

The thug leered at Rachel, completely ignoring Gill. Rachel caught her eye, and surreptiously shook her head as if to say don't get involved unless. By the looks of it they were more interested in her than Gill, and Rachel wasn't going to risk her bosses life.

" Look at her. She's hot, but she looks like she could use some good cock."

Rachel shook her head, and walked slowly towards her car. She looked like she was ignoring the thugs, but she wasn't. She was aware of their every move, so it wasn't surprising the larger one moved to block her path. Rachel eyed him, and saw from the corner of her eye Gill had tried the same tactic, and the shorter one had moved to block her path.

" Get outta the way," Rachel spat.

The thug didn't say a word. He just jeered at Rachel, who tried to step past him, but he blocked her again. The thug took a swing at her with considerable power, but you didn't learn how to be a police officer without learning how to defend yourself. Rachel had known it could happen, so she wasn't surprised. She simply ducked out of the way. The jeer vanished quickly when he growled, and he swung again. He was astounded, he and his mate had been chosen to take care of Rachel Bailey because of their sheer strength and power. A single blow would be enough to break her neck, and yet she'd just ducked and stepped back from him. He couldn't believe this woman, who was the equivalent of someone half his size could dodge so fast. He and his mate were tough, they could both take these police whores apart and stuff them into their pockets easily, but looking over at the other police woman, that wasn't true. The police bitch he was dealing with surveyed him with expressionless eyes, but when he swung round for a third blow, the police bitch was ready. She lashed out, her shoe and foot shooting out with terrifying velocity.

The toe of her foot shot up, full force, and was transformed into kinetic energy in his crotch. The big man collapsed to his knees in agony, gasping, but Rachel wasn't finished with him yet. Police officers were supposed to uphold the law, but they were not to let thugs get away with attempted assault, and Rachel, considering her already bad mood, wasn't going to let this guy get away with trying to kill her. She knew one blow would've given her a serious injury.

She punched him in the face, the blow honed by long lessons gleaned over the years from her time as a cop. Rachel had been taught to punch far above her body weight by a uniform who'd taken boxing lessons, and she'd been an exceptional student with talent. She punched the thug right in the left eye, avoiding places with bone. She followed up by kicking him in the face deliberately with a rugby kick. He toppled down in surprise lack a sack of coal. Rachel reached inside her handbag, and pushed/rolled the thug over at the same time, reaching for her cuffs. The man was too weak and stunned to resist as Rachel pulled his thick, tree trunk like arms back and cuffed them roughly.

Rachel looked up, and saw Gill just putting the finishing touches on her own thug. The smaller man had gone for Gill whilst the big one had gone for Rachel because both men thought they would be easier. The big man had gone for Rachel because she was the target, making Gill a smaller bonus. It was kind of insulting to her boss, Rachel mused. Like Rachel's thug, the smaller man had underestimated the training you received as a police officer. It didn't help matters police officers weren't allowed to show off their skills when they were most needed. Gill had managed to side step the thug, and managed to attack him from the side by putting him into a jointlock, before she kicked and punched him, again and again before cuffing him.

Rachel and Gill came together, panting slightly from the unexpected workout, and surveyed the two thugs.

* * *

" What the fuck happened to the pair of you?" Janet asked concernedly when she witnessed her best friend and boss friend walk in, both looking rumpled, Rachel wearing the same clothes from the day before which wasn't anything new, but Gill looked far from the neat, refined professional she usually was. Janet's eyes widened when she saw a gang of uniforms dragging two struggling men through the station, yelling profanities.

Gill was barking orders at the uniforms. " Take them both to Interview rooms one and two. Rachel, I want you to investigate your thug, I'll investigate mine in a minute."

Rachel nodded, and the three women went upstairs to the office, but Rachel and Janet took a detour to the ladies. " Not a problem, boss."

When the two women got to the ladies, Rachel went over to the sink. Janet leant against a wall. " What happened, Rach? What the fuck did Gill mean by your thug, and what was that about hers?"

Rachel washed her face with cold water. " Yesterday, after the briefing and seeing Holly's DVD, I went home with her backpack to make some sense of everything Holly had done. I spent an hour pouring over everything Holly had found, and I met her friend Michelle as she was working on the streets. I took her home to her parents when I got her address. They were shocked about what their daughter was doing and what had happened to her, but they were more surprised to find Holly was dead. Michelle was terrified, not just for herself. She kept talking about getting a beating, and when she heard about Holly she told me only a few details. They didn't know anything, so I went to Holly and Michelle's school. I asked for a list of the students and their details, and followed up on a few of the girls who'd been kidnapped. Their daughters came back before they were truly missed."

Janet frowned. " If my Taisie or Elise were kidnapped for that length of time, I'd have torn Oldham apart to find out where the fuck they were."

" Me too, I'd have helped you if that happened to 'em. I love 'em to bits, your girls," Rachel agreed, sighing into the sink. " I went to tell Godzilla what I'd found. She saw I was knackered, so she put me up for the night."

" Nice of Gill," Janet commented.

" Yeah, it was," Rachel agreed. " As we left the house, we met those two. They weren't waiting for Gill, they were waiting for me. One of them even said my name."

Alarm bells went up in Janet's mind, the same ones that blarred when Gill and Rachel were confronted. " How did they know who you were?"

" That's what me and Godzilla're gonna find out," Rachel said grimly. " That is if they talk." Rachel dried her face. She wanted a cigarette. It had been hours since her last one and now she was dying for a fag, but she knew the sooner she got this interview done and dusted, then she could have one freely.

Rachel and Janet walked out of the ladies and met Gill, who was waiting for them. The boss was carrying two files, and her face was grim. " We've certainly gotten someone's attention, Rachel." She commented, handing her one of the files. " The big bastard was Jack Tower, and the small one was Matt Salt. Heard of them?"

Rachel gasped, and Gill nodded, satisfied she didn't need to give a summary of how serious these people were when they sent those two gorillas locked in the cells. " Good, you have." She said grimly as they walked down the corridor, Janet heading back to office. Rachel was lost in thought. She had definitely heard of the pair of them, though distantly when she'd worked in CID, but she had never met them before now. Those two were definitely nasty pieces of work, and it was the dream of many Inspectors to put them behind bars forever, but nothing really stuck because they weren't really that important, and sometimes they were more behind the scenes enforcers than anything else. The pair were thugs for hire, they were usually called in to intimidate or beat to pulp those who owed money, but they were sometimes called in for bigger things than that. They often performed much the same role for other lines of work, but their usual MO was GBH, or intimidation.

It had never occurred to Rachel she was dealing with those two. Both men had records as long as a race track, and whenever they got out of prison they would go back to their trade. They had nothing else to do.

" How did you find them out?" Rachel asked; some criminals looked the same as others.

" One of the uniforms commented on it, after that the files were easy to find." Gill said as they walked towards the interview rooms. " Both men are too dangerous to be let out of their cuffs, and there will be two uniforms in the interview rooms each for protection."

" Don't worry. I've heard how dangerous they are, just never thought I'd meet them." Rachel shuddered.

Gill chuckled darkly. " You never want to meet these guys, Rachel. Those two are examples of why the police should exist."

* * *

Gill hadn't been exaggerating when she'd told Rachel about the precautions taken to ensure her safety. She also made sure her chair was close but not too close to Jack Tower. After two minutes in the interview, Rachel was losing her temper with him. Tower was a criminal who'd walked away from interviews like this one, so he knew how to act cool and calm and not give anything away. He kept saying no comment to every question she bothered to ask, and each time she tried changing her tactics he would always interrupt her by saying no comment. It drove her mad. Those people who watched police interviews on TV had no idea how wrong they were. An interview wasn't as simple as people thought.

After five minutes Rachel left the room, dejected and tired as Jack Tower was led out of his cell like some dangerous circus animal being restrained by his trainer, laughing and shouting profanities at Rachel. She found Gill coming out of her own interview room, also looking irritable. Matt Salt was also led out, but unlike his colleague, he howled in triumph for not saying a word.

" No luck?" The DCI asked when she spotted Rachel. She looked as pissed as Rachel did.

Rachel shook his head. " Its Luke Farrell all over again. No comment. I was going to get some fresh air and have a fag."

Gill nodded, not blaming her. " Mind if I have one with ya?"

" No."

When the two women lit up their cigarettes, they stood and thought.

" We're not gonna get anything from those two," Gill commented at last. " We might as well get cracking with other work whilst others try their luck. They might get something later if we're not conducting the interviews."

Rachel didn't have a problem with that. Tower made her skin crawl. The way he looked at her made her feel ill.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Rachel and Janet had gone round to each of the girls when they were in their lessons, supplied by the headteacher of Holly and Michelle's school. It was hard to get the girls to stay and talk at all, since they were scared the thugs behind all this might be nearby, as their 'training' had told them they were. They were determined to get out, but Michelle answered the query of why that was. Each girl had their own spot, as chosen by the boss in charge of the whole thing, and the girl would be watched as they paraded up and down the street, and go to the rooms rented for them. It was like a clocking on and off system. The girls were terrified that if they were late, then they would be beaten, and they wouldn't be given their drugs as payment for their services on time, so they would have to work extra.

Rachel and Janet couldn't and wouldn't hide their horror at how these girls were treated. It was a long day, what with the morning attack, but Rachel had more or less put that out of her mind until she returned with Janet later that afternoon. The whole thing took all day. Rachel was thinking about what Michelle had told the duo about how the training happened whilst Janet drove them back to the station.

The girls walked home, away from their friends, and then someone would cover their mouths and nostrils with chloroform, an old technique, but it worked far better than a bump to the back of the head. The girls would then wake up, and they would be raped for a whole night. The next day they would be given their taste of hard drugs, and have sex again in a daze. Then they would be taken to the place the boss had chosen for them to whore themselves out, and where their rented rooms were. The girls would also be given a supervisor, someone who was in charge of a small group of five or six girls, and be the first one to give them drugs if the girls had gathered enough money. If they didn't then they would have to work overtime till they did. Michelle told them emphatically the training was brutally fast, and the girls they'd spoken to had said pretty much the same thing.

Later that evening, Gill saw all the team were exhausted. Rachel and Janet had told them about everything the girls had said about the training, and in return Gill told them they would look into the place Michelle had been using in hopes it would lead to the others.

" It wasn't much fun here either," Gill added. " We didn't get a thing from Salt or Tower."

" You're joking." Janet gasped. Rachel shook her head. She wasn't the least bit surprised.

Gill shook her head. " I wish. They just won't talk. They've spent their fucking lives in and out of prison and interview rooms, so they know how to keep their gobs shut and when. Tomorrow we'll try again. Its been a long time since those two have been inside a police station, so hopefully the night will see them wanting to talk. Right," she clapped. " It's been a long day, and thank you. Get some kip. You've all got a long day ahead of you tomorrow. Goodnight."

Everyone stood up gratefully, talking quietly amongst themselves as they left. Rachel waited to speak to Gill for a moment.

" Do you think we'll get anything from those two?" She asked.

" No," Gill replied. " Those two know only a few things, like your name, but I can't see them giving us anything substantial. We can only keep them on the attempted assault charges. Besides that there's possibly not much they know."

" Then why keep them?" Rachel asked puzzled.

" They might not know anything about the case, but its nice for them to slip up once in while," Gill replied. " Now, go home. I'm not putting you up like I did last night."

Rachel chuckled. " Yeah, thanks for that."

" Don't get used to it, kid. I'm not running a hotel for whoever feels like it. What're your plans for tonight?" Gill asked, concern shining in her eyes.

Rachel sighed. " I'm just going through the photos Holly took. I've seen a dozen or so already."

" Hmm," Gill said. Normally someone else would've been assigned to the job Rachel had taken upon herself to do, but Gill herself had told Rachel to investigate the murder of her niece by going through all the material Holly had gathered. " How much have you found?"

" Enough, trouble is there's so much there. It helped me find Michelle," Rachel pointed out. " I've still got a mass to get through now."

" Good. Email me tonight with what you've found before you go to bed. Now go home."

* * *

Rachel was just leaving Oldham nick, and heading for her car, rubbing her eyes tiredly. They'd gotten a few steps closer to solving who was taking the girls, but they were no where finding the bastard who murdered Holly. Her mind was on everything they'd learnt so far. Holly had certainly stumbled into what was going on with the girls who were kidnapped, including Michelle, her best friend, and she'd taken pictures of the girls and noted a lot of things down that really helped them with the case, and she'd been murdered as a result. Rachel, Janet, and the others in MIT had been going after everyone from the families of the girls to the girls themselves, to the schools. Holly hadn't known it, but no less than 13 schools had seen a number of their female students going missing a couple of days before coming back much the same way as Holly described, and many of the other girls who hadn't been taken had become nervous and scared, and now uniform and CID were getting involved with the sex crimes unit also coming in to make sure all the girls were safe. Tomorrow was going to be a crackdown, with the girls taking police officers to where they met their supervisors to be arrested.

But Rachel was no where near finding out who'd murdered Holly. Whoever was doing this had hired Salt and Tower for intimidation, but the surprising thing was how did they know who she was?

Rachel already had an idea of how she'd been found by those two, they or someone had simply followed her to Gills, and merely waited until she came out. Like Gill, Rachel wasn't surprised neither of the two bastards were speaking. As she unlocked her car and was about to get inside it, she heard a noise behind her. Because of what was going on and after what happened this morning, Rachel Bailey was like a startled cat.

She swung round, scanning the car park. Most of the park was cast in shadows with the police station providing the most light, and there were a few cars here for a hiding place. Swallowing her fear and apprehension, Rachel whispered. " Somebody there?"

No one answered. Rachel frowned, and moved slowly away from her car, trying to peer into the darkness to see whoever was there. At least she thought there was someone there, but if there was then it would be a police officer. Why, if there was a copper here, hadn't they bothered replying?

" Is there someone messing around?" Rachel called, but again there was silence. " Who's there?" Rachel asked. Another sound, like footsteps, and Rachel cursed herself for not having a torch.

Then she heard a cat meow and come out of the shadows just when she was getting back to her car. Rachel jumped and almost shouted in shock.

Rachel breathed out in relief. The cat plodded over to her, meowing all the way. She bent down and patted it. The cat purred at the attention it was receiving. " Hello, puss," she cooed. " You startled me." She stroked the cat, scratching its back. The cat purred harder, and moved itself to show Rachel other spots it wanted scratching. After a few minutes of this, Rachel stood up. " I've gotta go."

She got in her car, and drove out of the park.

The cat watched her go, then it turned...and quickly scuttled away as a foot came down in a spot where it had been close to. The foot was inside a highly polished shoe. It was a man's shoe.

The man stepped completely out of the shadows, and watched Rachel's car leave the park and turn the corner. His lips curled into a sneering smile.

" You'll never learn anything, Bailey. Not after tonight." The man said quietly, feet clipping slightly on the floor as he walked to his car.

The corrupt police officer - since police were the only ones allowed into the car park - got into his car, and drove out.

He had work to do tonight since those bungling fools hadn't managed it.

* * *

**Authors note. Please R&R**


	4. Chapter 4

**Rachel Plays with Fire. **

**Attack!**

Rachel drove straight home from the station. She wasn't going to go out and get pissed, not when Holly's killer was still out on the loose. She made a coffee and sat down with her computer. She had the pictures Holly had taken with her camera, and she was going through the ones she hadn't seen one by one. They were mostly of the girls themselves, preteens or teenagers only just developing, being forced to have sex. But luckily some of the punters were seen, and their faces were photographed by Holly. Rachel sent those pictures to a double email she was planning on sending to both Janet and Gill. She had no idea why she was sending Janet this stuff, but she decided it was for a good cause. If one didn't get it, then the other would.

There were three hundred pictures on Holly's camera, and going through them was taking a long time as Rachel was studying each one. Holly had photographed the same car twice to make sure she had the number plate. It shouldn't take too long to PNC the lot. Rachel was smiling at the thought of the punters getting their just desserts for what they helped do to these kids.

Yet the same question came back to haunt her - who murdered Holly?

Her phone rang, and she jumped. Rachel dug around for her phone, and checked the caller ID. It was Alison. For sec Rachel wondered if she should just simply cancel the call, but she knew how much it would hurt Ali. She didn't need that, besides Rachel wanted to know how she was doing. Sighing, Rachel accepted the call. " Hi, Ali. How're you doing?" Rachel asked.

" Is there any news?" Her sister whispered, ignoring the question. Rachel was worried for her sister, she seemed to have lost the will to live, and the question instead of her usual cheerful greeting didn't bode well. " Yeah, we've managed to speak to some of the girls, found schools Hol-," Rachel paused at the name of her niece when she heard the sobs from Alison's end. Her sister was quick to reassure her. " It's okay Rach, you can say it. You were saying Holly -," she prompted, though Rachel could hear her sister's voice tremble just by saying her dead daughters name.

Pleased her sister was letting her say the name of her daughter even if she was uncomfortable, Rachel continued more sensitively. " We did some investigating and we found schools where this was going on, and we've already questioned some of the girls who've been kidnapped. Everyone's taken an interest from CID to the sex crimes unit-"

Alison wasn't interested in any of that. " What's being done to find the bastard who murdered my daughter?!" Her voice rose angrily. Rachel knew then Alison wasn't going to like this.

Rachel winced. " We're looking for him, but so far we're trying to unravel what he's done to the girls-"

But Alison wasn't listening, or seeming not to.

" No you're not. I can't believe you. You promised me you'd find them." Alison slammed down the phone before Rachel could say they'd already made plans to arrest the scum behind this. Rachel closed her eyes in pain.

It took Rachel a while to get her control back, but she poured through the pictures with a greater need. It was strange. Some of the pictures showed the gang noticing Holly, though distantly. Those pictures had already been sent off so the thugs could be identified, but the others showed they clearly knew Holly was there, so why didn't they do anything? Anyway, she'd rung up Gill only a few minutes ago, and told her what she was doing at the moment, that she'd send pictures to her via email. Gill said that would help since she would be in the office early so she could make early inquiries. She was going to find this bastard and she would make him pay for Holly and these girls. Even if it was the last thing she would ever do. Her eyes may've been studying the pictures, but her mind was still firmly on what her sister had said. Rachel was trying, really trying, to crack down hard on the bastard responsible for Holly's death, Gill said they were doing all they could to help, but it wasn't good enough for Alison.

For a certain point of view Rachel could sympathise with her sister's point of view. Investigations were hard enough at the best of times. It wasn't like what you saw in television dramas. It was a lot of boring work. With investigations you could not concentrate on one single avenue to solve a crime, you needed to follow it all up. That's what they were doing with this case. Rachel was doing it because she knew Holly had been gunned down in a street when she'd gone out jogging. There was so little for them to investigate from that. All they did know about it was Holly had jogged down a street, and the bullet had gone in from an angle. Rachel had visited that same street before she'd gone to Gills. It wasn't far from where Holly had lived with Tony and Alison, and already the place where the gun shot had gone off had been checked. There was nothing. The bullet had been calculated to be shot from a car. There hadn't been any witnesses. Why would there be at that time of the morning? It was so early. Rachel was angry someone had shot Holly, but she was even more furious someone had done it from a car and left the scene before anyone had realised what'd happened.

Alison knew police work was tough, sometimes you spent long hours working to solve crimes till your brain was mushy with fatigue. When you got home you were knackered, and you were even worse in the morning because you hadn't gotten much kip. Hold on, what was that? Something in one of the pictures had grabbed her attention. Rachel furrowed her brow as she leant forwards, and she clicked the mouse to go back. No, not that one. She rejected another two pictures before - AHA! There it was.

Rachel studied the picture closely. It showed a car, and there was a man inside it with two other men nearby, talking to the man inside. Rachel frowned. This wasn't some punter. No, this was someone else...

The front door bell rung. Rachel frowned harder at the door as the bell rang again and again. Someone's impatient, she observed. Who was it? She wasn't execting anyone coming for a visit? Could it be Godzilla? Maybe. It wasn't Janet, she said she wanted to spend some time with the girls tonight. Not that Rachel blamed her, after all the shit they'd been through recently, didn't they deserve the chance to be with their mother and didn't Janet need to reassure herself her daughters were safe with her? Rachel envied that of her friend, and it made her wonder about the baby she'd miscarried. Would it have been a boy or a girl? Shaking the sad thought - Rachel hadn't managed to get over the fact a child she'd carried in her body had died - her thoughts turned to other candidates. Alison was certainly a possibility, and for a moment as Rachel walked to the door cautiously, she entertained the possibilities of Alison coming round personally for a chat and an apology over a nice cuppa.

Then again, it might not be Alison. Rachel remembered how Salt and Tower had accosted her and Gill outside Gill's own house. Reaching for a weapon, Rachel only managed to get her hands on an empty glass wine bottle. Fuck, she thought to herself. I'm supposed to be a police officer, and yet I can't find a decent weapon to use against bastards who come to my front door.

Rachel opened the door.

" Hi, Rachel." Andy smiled at her though it didn't reach his ears. Rachel blinked. This was a surprise. Since when did Andy Roper bother coming round to her place when he didn't exactly get on with her and called her an airhead? The DS nodded at the bottle in Rachel's hand. " What were you planning on doing with that?" He asked amiably enough.

" What?" Rachel asked, then she looked at the bottle. " Oh! Right, sorry Sarge."

She put it down close to the phone.

" It's okay, especially after your meeting with Tower and Salt this morning," Andy waved her apology aside. " Er, may I come inside? It's a bit cold."

" Um, yeah. Sure." Rachel moved out of the way to let Andy inside. " Not to rude or anything, but what're ya doing here?"

Andy took the question in his stride. " I was in the neighbourhood, and I just wanted to see how you were doing."

Rachel was surprised by the kindness on Andy's face, it was a far cry from someone who thought she was stupid. Andy saw the expression, and he sighed. " Rachel, I know we're not exactly friends, and I know you know what I said about you after the briefing, but I had time to think afterwards and I thought I could've been more supportive."

If she'd been shocked by the kindness now, Rachel was even more stunned. Something niggled at the back of her head, though.

" Thanks, sarge, but how did you know I knew what you said 'bout me after the briefing?" Rachel asked.

Andy smiled. " Come on, do you honestly think me being a policeman for so long wouldn't have taught me one or two things? Anyway, how far have you gotten? We've been focused on finding the gang responsible for kidnapping those girls, but you've been focused on finding Holly's killer. How much have you learnt?"

Rachel sighed wearily as she pointed at the sofa for Andy to park himself down before dropping onto her armchair. " Not a lot," she said, " I'm going through a load of photographs, but its mostly about the girls and some gang members. I'm sending the pictures over to Gill so she'll have people to identify in the morning."

Andy nodded. " But you're still no where near finding out who murdered Holly?"

" No," Rachel replied sadly.

" It's frustrating, sometimes," Andy mused to himself, though he was clearly speaking for the pair of them. " Is there anything I can do, help you sort through the pictures?"

Rachel smiled at his kindness. " Well, actually I was planning on seeing a few more pictures before I head to bed. There's just so many of them. Holly had done a too thorough job. But if you want to help, then you can."

" Thanks," Andy smiled gratefully.

Rachel grabbed the laptop, and the two police officers sat down on the sofa, going over the pictures. " That looks like someone's meeting that one, a supervisor supervising the supervisors." Rachel observed.

" Definitely a hierarchy, with whoever in charge getting the cut of the profits with the others doing the leg work," Andy looked unsurprised, but then again neither was Rachel. It was how most gangs worked.

Rachel moved the pictures along, sending some of the pictures off to Janet and Gill at the same time when she found a picture she wasn't expecting.

It was a street, and there was a black car in the picture. A tall man with grayish dark hair, wearing a black coat, was talking to a man who was handing him money. Rachel clicked on the email send before she realised who the man was.

It was Andy, the man sitting next to her. He was looking down at the email and her with cold and angry eyes.

Time seemed to stand still as she heard a metallic clicking sound, and Rachel found herself looking down the barrel of a gun. Rachel froze, her right hand moving towards her mobile. Her mind raced. She had to keep Andy talking.

" You're him, the one who murdered Holly?" Rachel whispered quietly, pressing the call to send to Gill. Hopefully her answerphone would work.

Andy sneered. " Very good, Bailey. Ten out of ten."

Rachel took a staggered breath. " Why?" She whispered. " You're a respected police officer, you've got a career..."

" Why?" Andy said, his arm lashing out and grabbing her arm to pull her up. Rachel yelped and struggled in his grip, but Andy just jammed the gun in her face as a warning.

" Don't Rachel, You asked me why I murdered your niece. Why I became a crook, putting girls into prostitution and getting them addicted to drugs? I'll tell you. Two words. Retirement. Janet."

" What's Janet gotta do with this?" Rachel asked as she tried to pull away, but Andy was too strong. One thing she was pleased about was she'd bunged her phone under a cushion. Now she had to keep Andy from remembering it, keep him talking.

Andy's voice rose to a hysterical yell. " Everything!" He lowered his voice to regain some of his control. " Everything, Bailey. I was married once, and I tried to move on from Janet. Honestly I did, but the pressures of work got to me. I started drinking, and there were money worries. She left me, for someone else."

" Doesn't explain why you've suddenly turned to crime," Rachel opened her mouth without thinking, then she began kicking herself. Instead of letting him talk and confess everything, she'd interrupted him.

Andy didn't seem bothered about the interruption. He just held her tightly, and pressed the gun barrel close to her temple. Rachel closed her eyes, praying to god the bastard didn't go mad enough to shoot her. At this range her brains would splatter against the wall. Please, she begged. Please Godzilla, get someone here quick!

" The bitch left me for someone else, and I broke down!" Andy was saying, seemingly unconcerned his finger was tightening round the trigger, but Rachel quickly noticed. It was kinda hard not to when your whole attention was drawn to the trigger in the first place. " My job was going nowhere, I wasn't DCI material, so I gave up hope. Then I arrested a bloke who was pimping a young girl, and he told me it was so easy. I put him away, but what he said struck me. So I set up a gang, a hierarchy so no-one would recognise me and what I did. I was getting a massive cut of the profits every week, all to going into my retirement. I made sure the girls were picked out carefully, made sure they wouldn't be gone long so they could be put to work. That way uniform and CID wouldn't be overly aware of it."

Rachel was panting. She felt physically sick from being in this man's presence. Here she was being held at gunpoint, he was only a second away from killing her, and here he was calmly talking about his crimes like he was taking a casual walk.

" You said something about Janet, what did you mean?" She asked, trying vainly to keep herself calm.

Andy's expression changed. He seemed to become fanatical. " I love Janet. I do. She loved me, but she chose Adrian," he spat the name like it was a bad taste in his mouth. " A geography teacher. What could he know and how could he look after Janet? He's a petulant, uncaring, sulky bastard. He doesn't deserve her."

" And you do?" Rachel asked disbelievingly with a matching smirk. Andy's face darkened dangerously. Well done Rachel she berated herself, and he pressed Rachel against the wall. " It's not a good idea to patronise someone who's holding a gun to your head, Rachel. Of course I deserve her," he said, when the meaning of Rachel's question went through his brain. " I love her more than anyone else in the world."

Rachel was still looking for reasons why Janet wouldn't want anything to do with Andy especially since he was responsible for the whole situation.

" What about the girls? Elise and Taisie."She asked, feeling guilt for even bringing those two up.

" I have nothing against the girls, Rachel." Andy said, and something in his voice made Rachel believe him. He looked disbelieving, she noticed, as if he assumed Rachel thought he would hurt them and he couldn't believe her for saying what she had, and he sounded like it to. When Gill and Janet heard this, they would have a field day. " How-how could you think that?"

" You've been selling girls, taking them away from their normal lives and sinking them into prostitution, drugs, and raping them." Rachel liked the way that sounded. " How do you think Jan would feel if you did the same to Elise and Taisie?"

Andy lashed out, punching and kicking Rachel, making her scream in pain and surprise at the sudden blows. She tried to fight back, but Andy still had an iron grip round her wrist, stopping her from trying to get away. " How dare you say that to me, you airheaded, good for nothing bitch?! I made sure those girls were safe, kept my lads away from their school. I would never hurt those girls, they're a part of Janet, and I would never hurt them-"

" They're also a part of Adrian," Rachel pointed out. " Tell me something, what happened with Holly?"

Andy took a few deep breaths, calming down when he was asked about Holly.

" My gang often caught sight of her photographing them. Sometimes they would chase her, and she'd run off before they could catch her and give her the same treatment as the other girls," Rachel bristled at the thought of her Holly being turned into a drug addicted whore. One thing was certain, Andy was so gonna die for this, for what he'd done to Holly, and those girls and their families. Janet and Rachel had thought Geoff Hastings was notorious and evil, but this guy had scored something higher by ripping families apart. Rachel was delighted by one thing, Hastings had been murdering people for years without getting noticed, but Andy had been doing this for a short amount of time.

Andy carried on, unaware of Rachels thoughts. " I soon caught her, but I didn't say a word to her. I just followed casually. I watched her go home. I told the gang it would be handled, but I had other things to do. They were told to carry on as normal and forget this girl even existed since she couldn't do anything."

Ah, Rachel thought. That explains why in those pictures the gang members clearly knew Holly was there, but didn't do anything about her. How she knew why, and best of all Andy had confessed to it.

" I watched her, before I went to work. She would go jogging for half an hour before her mum took her to school. I followed them there as well, and found most of the girls in the quota came from there. It answered questions about why she was so interested. I shot her in the head when she was far enough away from home. There was nobody about, so I was in the clear." Andy said, then he growled angrily. " Then I find she's the girl we're investigating later on, and she's your niece. I had no idea who she was."

" You knew all that, and you didn't bother trying to interfere?" Rachel smiled skeptically as best she could.

Andy shook his head. " No, I didn't. If I had then it would've aroused suspicion. I didn't want that. I watched you as well. You should know that."

Rachel was confused for a moment, her mind going back...then her eyes widened. " It was you in the carpark tonight, wasn't it?"

Andy nodded, pleased he'd frightened Rachel. " I never knew you scared easily in the dark, Bailey," he taunted her. " All that time in the office, showing yourself as a tough bitch, like Gill, and you're like her." Andy nodded thoughtfully, keeping the gun trained on Rachel regardless of where his thoughts were straying. " A weak, stupid, bitch."

" I am not weak." Rachel argued.

" Oh, no. What about Nick Savage?" Andy cruelly taunted. " Didn't you harass him or something?"

Rachel looked down. She'd been so stubborn last year, constantly harassing Nick Savage, invading his private life, even going so far as to risk her career by PNCing his car, and worse, even lying in court. If she hadn't gone for him, tried to punish him, then she wouldn't have almost been run down by someone he'd told Carl Noris to try and kill her. But Rachel had, she'd been so angry that she'd been led on by Nick that she'd forgotten there were limits to how far you could push someone, and it wasn't just her he'd led on over the years, lying to her. Worse, he'd been married with kids.

" It was you who followed me to Gills, and got Salt and Tower to attack us, right?" Rachel asked, looking up into Andy's eyes.

Andy frowned. " How did you know I followed you?" Then his eyes narrowed at the trick question. In truth Rachel had been purely guessing what Andy had done, but it was the most obvious thing he could've done, unless he'd PNCed her, but he wouldn't have done that. PNCing left tracks, and it may come up sooner rather than later. It had been a mistake Rachel was not intending to repeat, unless it was on a case.

" Very good, Bailey." Andy ground out, angry he'd been tricked so easily by someone he'd called an airhead. He was now seriously rethinking his opinion of Rachel. " You're right, I did follow you. I waited outside, but you didn't come out. I called those two useless morons, and set them on you."

" You even told them who I was, that's how they knew who I was," Rachel said. It was all slotting into place.

" That was a mistake." Andy admitted.

Rachel shook her head at the coldbloodedness, it simply didn't completely add up for her. " Did they never see you?"

" And risk me being identified?" Andy's opinion of Rachel returned to what he'd originally thought of her. " No."

" What now?"

Andy smiled, and he raised his gun.

* * *

Janet sighed as she got into work the next morning. " Morning Gill," she said as she saw her boss. Everyone else in the office was still and quiet, and Janet dimly noticed some of them were even furious. There was no sign of either Rachel or Andy.

" Morning Jan," Gill replied, her voice cold and angry.

That voice made Janet's skin crawl with apprehension. Oh, uh, Gill was in one of her truly bad moods. " What's wrong?" She asked fearfully.

" Rachel left a message on my phone last night, along with photos Holly had taken." Gill replied, and Janet could see her old friend was trying to stop herself losing her temper. " She called again, but I was out with Julie, and I forgot to take my phone with me. I didn't think anything of it 'til I were in the car on my way to work this morning." She replayed the recording.

Within seconds Janet was sitting down, listening as Andy confessed to the murder of Holly Bailey, and the forcible kidnapping and prostituting the school girls. When it came to why, Janet felt herself becoming sick, especially when Elise and Taisie were mentioned. For a horrible moment Janet wondered what Andy would've done if the girls had been kidnapped, despite what he thought about them.

The sound of Rachel screaming in pain as Andy beat her made Janet cry.

" Stop it," she whispered before she shouted. " Turn it off!"

Gill turned the phone off without a word. Janet took a breath. " What's happened to her?"

" We don't know," Gill confessed.

" Andy doesn't know Rachel sent that message, does he?" Mitch asked.

" Doesn't look like it," Gill replied. " At least there was no sign he had last night. If he comes, then we'll know."

" And Rachel?" Janet asked desperately. " What about Rachel?"

Andy came in at that moment, looking cheerful. " Morning everyone," he said as he took off his coat and slung it on the hatstand. He didn't seem to have seen the glares coming his way. " Sorry I'm late, by the way Gill. Traffic was murder. Did you have a nice night? I certainly did. Got home, went out like a light. Listen I've been thinking about this schoolgirl case, and-" he turned, and finally he saw the way everybody in the office was looking at him.

" What is it?" Andy smiled, though inwardly he was nervous. " What's the matter? Has something turned up?" Discreetly he looked around the room for inspiration. " Where's Rachel?" He asked, giving himself a pat on the back for his quick thinking.

" That's funny, that's what I want you to tell us," Lee glowered at him.

Andy wasn't about to take that, not from a DC. " Careful Lee, I'm a DS."

Gill was furious by the thoughts of what had happened to Rachel whilst this violent crook who'd been her own sergeant scolded one of the other officers in this office. She showed him her phone and played the recording. When it was finished, Gill folded her arms. " Detective Sergeant Andy Roper, I'm arresting you for trafficking and kidnap, and the assault and battery on DC Rachel Bailey, and the attempted intimidation and attack on two policewomen yesterday. Anything you do say will be given in evidence. Mitch, Lee," she nodded at the two men, who walked over to Andy. The former sergeant let them get close, but then he pushed the two men aside, and made a run for the door.

" Stop him!" Gill shouted.

She needn't have bothered, Andy had stopped close to the door. So did everybody else when they saw what had made Andy stop.

There, covered in blood, leaning on one side of her body, and looking half dead was Rachel.


	5. Chapter 5

My thanks to everyone who reviewed this story so far.

Hope you're enjoying the series. I know I am. I'm reading a Scott & Bailey book, BLEED LIKE ME, by Cath Staincliffe. So far its great.

**Rachel plays with Fire. **

**Revenge. **

* * *

_Earlier. _

* * *

Rachel came too in the dark. As she became more aware of her surroundings, she realised her hand and chest were sore from where she'd been punched and kicked by Andy, to say nothing about the pain coming from her head from where the butt of Andy's gun had made an impression on her. Her hands weren't tied. She tried shifting herself to make herself more comfortable, but she found she could barely move. A jolt in the thing she was in made her groan. She was in a car boot. Rachel's first thought was to scream, but a more rational side of her mind, which sounded like Janet, said, " No. Don't scream. Don't make a sound. Andy will be the one to hear you, and that won't do any good will it?"

So Rachel tried her best to relax, not an easy task in a moving car. She tried to focus. Andy. Andy was the one behind all of this, behind Holly's death. How was it possible? She might not have liked him as a policeman, now she hated him even more now she knew what he was, but she would never have imagined him capable of anything like this. Rachel remembered what Andy had said to her.

Retirement.

Janet.

She focused on those two things that drove Andy into his business. Retiring wasn't anything unusual, and Andy could easily say he just wanted to get away from the shit he'd seen over the years. No questions would be asked, it was a common enough reason for many police officers to leave the force when they'd just had enough of the shit they saw. The only problems Rachel could see with that would be if he spent more cash than he should. He'd be investigated, and then it would more than likely come out what he'd done to get so much cash.

But Janet...? Rachel couldn't imagine Janet, in any reality really, just abandoning her kids for someone like Andy. Did he really think money would buy her affections, or was he simply deluded? There was a reason, Rachel mentally sighed, why Lee was the psychologist at the syndicate.

The car's sudden stop made Rachel, despite the way her body had just been dumped, bang her head on the metal. " Fuck!" She shouted, rubbing her head with her hand. " Ow!"

She stopped cussing when she heard the muffled sound of a door opening and closing. Rachel went completely silent, the only sensations she could feel was the throbbing in her head and in her heart.

The boot opened. Andy leaned over her. It was daybreak. He didn't look overly happy that Rachel was conscious again, but it would make his job far easier. Rachel knew how heavy bodies could be, unconscious or not, and although Andy was strong and tough, even he would flag under the weight. He held the gun close to her face before she could move. " Get out." He backed away to give her space to actually pull herself out of the boot. Rachel clambered out slowly, mostly to keep an eye on the gun. As she wobbled on the concrete as her feet adjusted to being out of the boot, Rachel looked around. They were in an alleyway with bins and refuse sacks filled to the knot all around. " No witnesses," Rachel commented with a wince.

Tidy. Just like Holly.

Andy kept the gun pointing at her, the muzzle aimed directly at her heart. " Move over there, Rachel," he said, expression tight, as he moved the gun muzzle to point at a dumpster. Not seeing any other alternative with the gun, Rachel did as she was told. She marched over to the dumpster, but then she swung round, a high flying kick aimed at Andy. She figured at the last moment if she was going to be shot anyway, why not try something incredibly stupid and reckless it probably would not work anyway? It wasn't aimed at his head, but at the gun. She got her aim a bit wrong. It hit his arm with the same force as someone swinging a tennis raquet at someone's arm. Andy cried in pain, and although it hadn't been what Rachel had hoped for, she took it anyway, cursing herself for her aim being off. She just hoped she could get away before-

Thud!

Rachel staggered as she felt a blinding pain come from her hip, and she faltered. She twisted her neck round to catch a glimpse of Andy holding the smoking gun, raised for another shot. Rachel recovered herself, and moved as far and fast as she could, but the pain in her hip made things difficult.

The thud of another bullet going into her arm blinded her with pain, making her slow down again despite her best effort not too. She tried to get away again, but Andy fired the gun again. By some sick quirk of fate, it went into her head.

* * *

Rachel couldn't breath. The only thing she could smell was the plastic scent of refuse sacks mixed with rubbish, rotten and mouldy food, and heaven alone knew what else. She felt sick, and the pain in her body made it worse. Her arm had been hit, and unless she wanted to feel nothing but pain everytime she used it, then it was useless. Her hip was worse.

Rachel paused to listen to the world outside the dumpster. How long had she been buried inside? She couldn't rightly tell. She had to get out. Gritting her teeth with the effort, she managed to manoever herself so then she could push her way out of the dumpster. Her head throbbed with a pain she'd never experienced before. Air, she thought. Have to get air. When she managed to reach a fairly clear spot, she reached to the point of her skull where the pain was coming from. She touched. She felt around, and felt something that made her sick. She had a hole in her head. She could feel inside her brain.

* * *

_Present. _

* * *

It had taken Rachel close to an hour to get out, to find her way to the station. She grabbed an old iron bar, rusted, but heavy, and she used that as a walking stick to help her move. She used the backway as it wasn't guarded, and managed to get to the office. Just in time to stop Andy from taking another step.

Blood streamed down Rachel's face, congealing over the blood already there, covered in muck...she was a shocking and terrifying sight. Her eyes were the only things her colleagues recognised, and even they looked half dead. Janet gasped, clapping a hand to her mouth as she took stock of Rachel's state. Her clothes were covered in blood and muck, and her eyes looked glazed. Dead. She was leaning one half of her body on an iron bar, so she'd been badly hurt on one side of her body. Her horror rose as she saw the source of the bleeding. There was a hole in Rachel's head, and although she couldn't see it as it was full of congealing blood, Janet would have to be blind not to see the brain. She saw a glint of metal. A bullet.

Andy was paralysed with shock, he hadn't moved, and Janet couldn't see his face. Rachel's eyes flickered vaguely in her direction, then back to Andy. Janet heard a gasp from behind her.

Gill. She half turned to see her boss's face. Gills normally calm face was white with shock at the apparition in front of her. Janet could hardly blame her. This blood covered being didn't even resemble the usually bubbly, larger than life DC.

Movement made her concentrate.

Rachel shifted her weight slightly, moving the iron bar in her hand for the other hand to grab it. The movement made Janet aware of two things; first Rachel's weight was off her right hip, and secondly her right arm had it's own gunshot wound. Fuck, what the hell had happened to her? Janet almost rushed to her, to help her best friend, but she couldn't move.

The iron bar was lifted in the air, and with an inhuman scream of rage and pain, Rachel swung the iron bar around. The bar impacted on Andy's arm, smashing the shoulder. Andy cried out in pain. But Rachel wasn't finished yet, she was only getting started. She cursed inwardly as she fought to maintain her balance, the pain in her hip and head making it hard for her to concentrate. If this had been different, like if she was arresting a perp if she was healthy, then Rachel would've fought like it was nothing. Her injuries were too serious in this case.

Janet watched her friend's movements carefully: the first blow had almost toppled Rachel over, but she'd quickly regained some of her balance, but it hurt her, alot, because Rachel grimaced in pain. She gathered herself ready to hit Andy again, who was grabbing his shoulder. He cried out in pain again as the iron bar whacked his leg. This was enough for Andy to collapse to the ground in pain. A second later Rachel collapsed as well, panting with the effort.

That was also enough for Janet. She shot forward, and grabbed Rachel gently, holding her. Rachel's eyes were half closed, but they opened when they saw her. Her mouth moved. Janet leaned closer to hear her better.

Rachel's voice was faint. " Janet Scott of Scotland Yard."

* * *

** Next Time - The Hospital.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Rachel plays with Fire. **

**The Hospital. **

DCI Gill Murray marched down the hall of the hospital, her face hard, her clothes smart and neatly pressed. Her heels clacked on the floor as she strode down the corridors. Her very demeanour and body language prevented even the bravest of doctors and nurses to get in her way. Gill had long since trained herself to hide her true emotions and feeling behind a reputation that portrayed her as unfeeling, sarcastic, and all round domineering.

Though her back was ramrod straight, her face as drawn as a latex mask, deep down Gill was anything but icy and uncaring.

It had been a week since she'd discovered Andy's double life, a week since his attempt to murder Rachel, and in that time the review team had come in to learn more because of the syndicate's involvement in the personal lives of two of Gill's detectives, and joy of fucking joys it meant having to deal with Dirty Dave, her ex. Gill's jaw clenched as she thought about her husband, the same bastard who sneaked behind her back for ten fucking years with her, the whore from Pendlebury, who he'd gotten up the duff. Between her husband, Rachel in hospital unconscious, and the humiliation which had come from Andy's double life as a pimp, Gill could honestly say it hadn't been a good week.

The doctors barely noticed her as she strode passed them. They'd become accustomed to her daily arrivals, so they said nothing to her. Gill walked into the room Rachel was inside. Hand paused on the door jamb, Gill breathed in as she opened the door. As always the sight of Rachel on the hospital bed, a massive white gauze bandage wrapped round her head, nestled on a bed surrounded by machines, and wires and tubes going into her body made Gill's heart stop.

She wasn't alone in the room. Alison Bailey was there, and so was Janet. Both women were speaking to Rachel. They didn't seem to notice Gill's entrance.

Alison was in a right state. She'd already confided in Gill and Janet about the last time she'd spoken to her younger sister, the things she'd said...It was hard to believe that a few hours later Rachel found herself face to face with the man who'd murdered her daughter, and tried the same with her sister.

" Oh, Rach," Alison was saying, her eyes watery. " I'm so sorry for the way I spoke to yer last, I was so angry I took it out on you," she sobbed harder than before. Janet gently placed her hand on top of Alisons. Both woman smiled at one another. Gill cleared her throat making Janet and Alison jump, but they both relaxed as the DCI came closer to take a closer look at Rachel.

" Do you mind if I speak to Rachel alone for a few moments, please?" she said. Gill knew the request would be hard on Alison, and she was right, but Janet was there to say a few words into Alison's ear to make the other woman do as she was asked.

When Alison and Janet were out of the room Gill was free to sit down, and took a long hard look at Rachel lying prone on the bed. " I'm so sorry, kid," she whispered. " I should've seen what was happening with Andy, but I-" she gasped, " I am so blind to anything other than my job."

Now that confession was out of the way, it was like a dam had burst on her emotions. " Why, Rachel? Why is it you and I seem to be so fuckin' good at what we do, but when we try to understand our social lives we fuck up?" Gill laughed without humor and carried on, sobering up. " He's been arrested, Andy. Though first he needed seeing to after you hit him with that bar."

* * *

Gill walked out of the hospital, striding towards her car. Though she sincerely wanted to, she really couldn't leave her job and come here to stay with Rachel. Janet was exempt from that, the syndicate had more than enough DC's to get things done, but they were down on a sergeant, meaning Gill had to co-ordinate everything for the time being on top of her other duties. Hopefully someone would send a sergeant desperately. To make matters worse, they had a case going on at the moment, and the syndicate was down on two DC's three if you counted Kevin, and one sergeant.

It still made Gill ashamed of herself, not to mention angry that one of her own officers, someone whom she'd trusted for years had turned out to be rotten to the core. Slipping her hand into her handbag, Gill took out the keys for her car, and she'd just unlocked the doors when her phone went off. Without blinking, Gill took out her phone after checking the caller ID. " Hiya, slap," she said to her best friend after Janet. DSI Julie Dodson was in charge of her own MIT syndicate, and she shared a teasing relationship with Gill. She was glad to hear Julie's voice, share the new tidbits of the various different and challenging puzzles that came out of their cases, and after the visit to the hospital to check on Rachel this call was a godsend.

Gill's smile faded a minute into the conversation. " Okay," she said, checking her watch. " I'll be there in twenty minutes."

* * *

" That wasn't twenty minutes," Julie said, not looking up from her phone as she sensed Gill coming in, her voice teasing. " That were half an hour."

" Tough," Gill replied, " I was at the hospital."

Julie nodded, biting her lip sympathetically. " How's Rachel?" As the head of an MIT syndicate Julie often met up with other heads, and they got talking about promising and brilliant DC's, and Rachel Bailey was nearly at the top of the bragging list. Julie hoped one day she would meet the DC. She hoped to visit her at hospital, just to spend time with her even if she was unconscious.

Gill sighed, putting her bag on the desk, and Julie kindly got out. " Still out of it. They got the bullet out, so she's okay on that side."

" It's Rachel I'm here to talk to you about," Julie sighed. " I've bad news, Gill. Nicolas Savage was attacked last night, under the Bridgewater tower. Someone beat him up, left him for dead."

Gill blinked in surprise. " What's that got to do with Rachel?"

" His sister, she's saying Rachel did it."

Gill scoffed. " She does know Rachel's in hospital with a bullet wound to the head, right?"

Julie sighed. " I tried telling her, yes, but she won't listen to me," she leant closer to Gill, " I don't blame her, either. Our TIEing has already shown her to be at the top of the list."

Gill glared at Julie, their friendship allowing leeway despite the rank differences. " Julie, Nick Savage lied to Rachel. He paid someone to kill her. I saw her face when she found out, just like I did when I heard the CPS decided not to throw the book at him."

Julie sighed again. " Gill, I know Rachel's one of your best detectives, and I agree she couldn't have done anything like this. Besides she's downstairs."

" What, why?" Gill shot to her feet.

Julie smirked. " I thought she deserved to hear it from you."

Gill shook her head, muttering under her breath. Julie snickered when she deciphered the words ' fat arsed bitch,' and followed Gill out of the room.

* * *

Nick Savage's sister was called Diana, and the moment she met Gill she immediately launched into a diatribe about the fact one of her officers had assaulted her brother. Diana was a barrister herself, so she knew police procedure. It never occurred to Diana she was about to make a fool of herself.

After listening to her for a few minutes, Gill held up her hand.

" Whoa, enough. What makes you so certain my DC is the one who attacked your brother? Just give the facts." Gill folded her arms, not willing to let this bitch think just because she had an education, a fancy job, and a rich dad meant she could tangle with her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Julie's similar stance.

" I admit, Miss Savage, DCI Murray has a point," Julie said mildly. " So far you've only accused DC Bailey of a crime based on her past relationship with your brother. Do you have proof she did it now?"

Gill nodded, determined not to give this posh bitch any room to move. " Your brother was mates with a nasty piece of shit. Maybe one of his crewe did it."

" No," Diana spat. " That bitch, Bailey, did it."

Gill shook her head. " You're wrong. The attack happened last night. Rachel couldn't have done it, because I was with her. Last night. At hospital. Rachel was shot in the head, the arm, and the leg. She almost died, Miss Savage, in a brutal series of events." Menacingly, Gill stepped close to the stunned woman, who swallowed nervously at the look on the DCI's face. " Listen to me, very carefully. Next time you accuse my officer of a crime, get the facts first. From what I understand, DSI Dodson here told you, or tried to tell you DC Bailey was in hospital?"

Diana couldn't really remember, she could vaguely recall the woman telling her something about DC Bailey. Unfortunately she'd been driven by personal malice. She nodded her head despite her lack of memory, and sheepishly left the station, humiliated.

* * *

Janet looked up when Gill came back far earlier than expected, she blinked in surprise when she saw Julie Dodson come in with her, and close the door. The DSI seemed surprised to see how many cables were wrapped around Rachel's body. Gill had been wrestling with the duo roles of DCI and DS since Andy's private life had come out, as a result she'd been forced by her son, his girlfriend, and of course Janet and Julie had to take it easy, and she had. No late night meetings, no drunken partying.

Besides that Gill had found spending time with Janet and the girls with Alison and Rachel at the hospital more preferable. Taisie and Elise had been besides themselves with worry when they found out from their mother about what happened to Rachel, but Gill remembered the horror on their faces when they heard about what Andy had been doing.

Taisie had summed it up in one horrified whisper. " That could've happened to me, or Elise."

Gill and Janet had been haunted by the recording Rachel had made when Andy had attacked her in the flat, about Elise and Taisie being made into prostitutes, but they also remembered how shocked and angry Andy had been.

" You're back earlier than usual," Janet commented.

Gill's mood had been terrible when they'd left the office, so Julie had driven her here in the hope being with Janet and Rachel would help her calm down.

She didn't seem to hear Janet's question, so Julie answered. She told Janet about Diana Savage and what happened to her brother. Janet looked down at Rachel. " Jesus," she whispered. " Savage seems determined to haunt Rachel."

Julie glanced down at Rachel's body and bandaged head. " She certainly ignored me when I tried telling her about what happened to Rachel. She didn't when Gill here had a go at her."

Janet looked at Gill. Her friend was now looking more relaxed as she looked at Rachel before turning to Janet. " How is she?"

Janet sighed. " She's getting better. The doctor says she should be waking up any day now."


	7. Chapter 7

**Rachel Plays with Fire. **

**Waking up to a mystery.**

Her head felt like hell. For a while she wondered where she was, who she was, and what she was doing. Her mind felt so foggy she had to crawl out of it. Somehow she felt like she had to do something to make sense of her surroundings. What was it? Oh, yeah. She opened her eyes, and blinked rapidly to adjust to the glare of the overhead lighting.

" She's awake!" someone squealed, and her head hurt even more, but her memory started returning even as her head hurt worse. It was like someone had smashed a claw hammer into her skull to make a hole and was using the claw to prise the bone open. She groaned at the sound, and the person said, " Sorry, Rach."

She couldn't move, but now she could remember what happened, who she was, and what she was doing here. Moving her eyes she saw Janet, Gill, and a woman wearing a smart blouse.

Rachel blinked at them. " Hi," she whispered. She couldn't raise her voice.

Janet was next to her in an instant. " Rach, how are you feeling?" She whispered, her eyes going to the bandage wrapped around her friend's head, and could barely imagine how much pain she was in. Unbidden her mind flashed to the pain and shock she'd experienced when Geoff had stabbed her in the stomach, but that hadn't been in the head.

Rachel grimaced. " My head...hurts," she replied honestly. Though her memory had returned her head still hurt to sift through her vocabulary of words for anything more complex.

Janet's eyes flicked up to the bandage wrapped around her best friend's head again. " I'm sorry," she said uncertainly. Janet couldn't think of anything to say about that.

" It's okay," Rachel said, dimly wondering why Janet would be sorry for something that wasn't even her fault. Her mind was in so many pieces she didn't realise Janet was merely offering the apology out of goodness, and the policewomen in the room had to strain to hear her. " How're you? You've been crying," she commented as she took Janet's appearance in as best she could. She lifted her hand, and used her finger to gently wipe the tears away from Janet's face.

Janet touched her eyes. " Yeah, I've been worried about you," she replied before pointing at Gill and Julie. " We all have."

Rachel's eyes flicked over to Gill and then to Julie. The latter shifted and was going to introduce herself, when Rachel said to everyone's surprise, including Julie's, " DSI Julie Dodson, nice to meet you. Heard lots about ya." She managed to raise a hand limply in the direction of the DSI, and Julie took it. Rachel was a little surprised by her firm and solid grip.

Julie smirked. " Thanks, I guess. When you say you've heard lots about me, anything bad?" She sent a teasing look at Gill and Janet, but Rachel chuckled which quickly changed to a grimace as pain rippled through her head. " No. Do you want there to be?" She pinned Julie with a look.

Janet frowned down at Rachel. " How do you know about Julie?"

Rachel smirked, but everyone could see it was pained, though her attention was fixed solely on Gill. " You're not the only MIT syndicate head I kept my eye on. I was in the CID and the sex crimes unit, so I had access to who was in MIT."

Julie stared at Rachel for a long moment, then she laughed. " I like her already," she said to Gill. Her opposite number from a different syndicate, though, frowned at Rachel. " Who did you want to join, Rachel? Me or Julie?"

Rachel would've shrugged if her body hadn't felt like lead. " Does it matter now?"

Gill shrugged herself. " Guess not."

Rachel was silent for a moment, then she said, " I overheard you, when I was unconscious, though it sounded like you were talking from far away, you were talking about Nick. What happened?"

Julie had driven Gill to the hospital to see Rachel, and to see with her own eyes the state of the DC who Diana Savage had accused of assault against her brother. She hadn't expected this. Part of Julie was a little bit...ashamed that Rachel had overheard when she was still recovering from the terrifying event that had happened to her, but she was delighted the DC was conscious enough to speak. For the next five minutes Julie laid down the case for Rachel, and though it most likely hurt her to do so, Julie, Gill, and Janet watched as Rachel thought about it.

" I can see why his sister would feel that way," she admitted to them, " but I had nothing to do with the attack. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't. I've put too much effort into getting to where I am, and I'm not letting that man haunt me. I made that mistake once before, and I'm not letting him get in the way of my career again. Ever." Julie wondered what she meant by that, but Janet and Gill knew precisely what Rachel was talking about. Julie shrugged and carried on. " If you weren't in this bed, and it wasn't already known, then you would be questioned," Julie admitted, leaning in over Rachel though not close enough to intrude on her personal space. " You were almost the prime suspect."

Hearing that had Janet and Gill on Julie's case, but Rachel quickly interrupted. " It's okay, really guys," she whispered at the two women whom she knew best, besides she didn't want to hear an argument with raised voices. Her head felt like it was splitting, only her concentration was keeping her from falling back into being unconscious. Not a nice place to be. She turned back to Julie. " Ma'am," she began but Julie interrupted her. " Please, call me Julie, these two do." She pointed at Janet and Gill.

Rachel's head was swimming to much to care, but she did so anyway because Dodson was probably trying to make her feel better. " Okay, Julie," she whispered, trying out the name. " Since I heard Nick was being let off by the CPS, I decided to simply try and forget that the man existed. I changed the locks to my flat, he had keys. When my brother crashed my car after taking it for a joyride, I missed my sergeant's exam, and later I drowned my frustrations on that and Nick on a bottle of wine. Aside from that I haven't seen Nick, to the point where he's a bad memory. If this hadn't happened then I would've put the lying knobhead out of my mind."

Julie stood up. From what she'd heard Rachel hated Nick for leading her on, he'd almost killed her. She had good reasons to hate him for what he'd done. She looked deep into Rachel's eyes. Over the years during her time with the police, Julie had developed a sense of when someone was telling the truth. Rachel was.

" Do you have any idea who would want to see Nick injured or dead?"

Rachel made a movement with her head that Julie realised quickly was a shake. " No. Sorry."

Julie looked down at her again. Same thing, Rachel was telling the truth.

Then something occurred to Rachel. " You said that Diana Savage was keen on me getting arrested?"

" Yes," Julie replied, curious as to where this was going.

Rachel closed her eyes for a moment, making the other woman wonder if she was unconscious again. But Rachel woke up a moment later. " I met her once, at Nick's flat. She had her own keys. You said Nick had been attacked in the car park, under the Bridgewater estate, well there are two ways into that building. The main entrance is biometric, the second needs a key fob. Diana probably has both."

Julie frowned as she considered. Diana Savage wasn't someone she'd taken too at once, but now Rachel had added a possible suspect she had to admit that Diana had got to her quickly. Too quickly.

Janet frowned. " Why do you think she did it, Rach?"

Rachel's eyes turned to her. " Diana and Nick don't have a good relationship, but beyond that I dunno," she explained. " I heard them arguing, and I even heard a slap, but she'd gone before I could do anything. Nick had introduced us, then he asked me if he could speak, and I can tell you, the look she was sending me and him was anything but friendly."

" Doesn't mean there's any proof of that," Gill pointed out.

Rachel rolled her eyes. " I know," even lying on a bed with her voice quiet and slurred, she was capable of sounding like a child. " But it's a possibility. Whenever I saw them in public, they were so cold to each other. Don't tell her I said that."

Julie nodded, " I won't."

" Why do you think it might be Diana? Nick may have had other enemies." Gill asked.

Rachel licked her lips. " I know. But Diana hates me, but when I gave evidence against the arse, she didn't look angry. She looked pleased by the result, and she smiled at me. Now he's been let off, she's probably pissed off. Attack her brother, frame me...Gift from heaven if I was arrested."

Janet nodded. " It seems to fit."

" Still no evidence." Gill hated to point out, but she had to anyway. Julie was thinking things through in her mind, and she was already thinking of how to investigate the case. Diana Savage's name hadn't appeared on the list, but Julie could see Rachel was telling the truth. Surely there were other people who were aware of what the sibling's relationship was like?

Julie nodded. " Okay Rachel," she said, " I'll keep in touch. You coming or staying, cock?" She asked Gill. The former shook her head. Now Rachel was awake, she wanted to spend quality time with her and Janet. " Nah, I'll be fine," she replied. " I can always grab a taxi or something."

Julie smiled, and sent a warm smile in Rachel's direction. " Thanks for coming," she smiled. The Detective Superintendent was about to leave when she had a brain wave. " You said you'd heard lots about me, did Kevin say anything about me?"

Rachel's head was swimming at that point, but she answered as best she could. " Yes, he did." She didn't go into details and Julie didn't seem like she wanted to know because she was already aware of what Kevin thought of her. She nodded and left.

Rachel looked between Janet and Gill. " Please don't let me fall asleep again, how are things with the kids?"

Gill and Janet glanced at each other, and Gill started by saying what Sammy was doing with Orla. " He's thinking of becoming a police officer."

" No?" Rachel smiled at her.

" Yeah, says he wants to be like me."

Rachel tried to conjure and image of Sammy Murray, older and wiser, standing at the head of a table at an MIT syndicate, giving a lecture on a crime. She had a dim image of it, though whether or not it was down to her head almost split open was an open question. " Good luck to him," she whispered. " How are Elise and Taisie?" she asked Janet.

" Worried about you, I can tell ya," Janet replied. " Mum's with them, they came to visit. When they were told what had happened to put you here, Taisie pointed out it could've happened to her."

Rachel dimly remembered what had happened with Andy. It was like a bad dream made solid. She remembered how Andy had reacted when she'd brought his thugs drugging the girls up by accident, how painful it had been. Andy had an obsession with Janet, sometimes it made Rachel uncomfortable when she noticed how Andy would stare at Janet longer than was proper. Worse, those looks were like those of a predator. She had never said anything to Janet out of fear of their friendship collapsing.

" I thought Alison would've been here," Rachel moved on.

" She's been here, but with the arrangements for Holly's funeral and you being here, and work, she's been run ragged."

The mention of Holly was like a distant memory too, but it brought with it old pain for Rachel. She sighed. " How far has she got?"

Gill sighed. " She was trying to find a reasonable price for the funeral"

" She's been talking about cremation, but her husband talked her out of it. Said they should have a place for her in a graveyard where they can visit her." Janet said heavily.

Their father had been cremated, Rachel remembered organising the thing with Alison's help, her sister had called her hard when Rachel had been cold about the whole thing. Rachel had gone for cremation because she hadn't wanted anything further to do with their father, but Holly was different. Unlike her useless layabout granddad Holly had had a life ahead of her, but it was cut short. Rachel was a little angry her sister would want to cremate her own daughter, but she'd probably hoped that if she didn't visit a plot at a graveyard then the pain might fade with time.

What about ashes? Holly had barely lived her life, so there weren't many places they would be able to scatter ashes. That meant they would have an urn in their living room.

Personally Rachel couldn't see anything wrong with visiting a graveyard; her father had been a useless bastard who hadn't deserved a plot as it had been too good for him, but Holly was different. She'd been an innocent girl who'd gone way over her head. Rachel hoped to speak with her sister as soon as possible about it.

* * *

Alison came as the conversation with Gill and Janet dwindled. She came walking in, hair messy. When she saw her sister awake, she squealed with delight, and ignoring the others and Rachel's position, Alison wrapped her arms about her head and squeezed. Rachel almost screamed with the pain, and Alison remembered how badly hurt her sister was. Janet and Gill pried her off with ease. Alison was all apologies. " Oh, Rachel, I'm so sorry."

Rachel waved it off even as her head stopped aching. " It's okay." She tried to project she was recovering, but everyone could see the lines of pain around her features.

" No, it's not," Alison chided her. " I blamed you for not going anywhere with the case, next thing I hear is you're here with a hole in your head."

Tears started welling from her already red and sunken eyes. Typical.

" No," The last thing Rachel wanted for her sister to blame herself. She could just see the tell tale signs of tears welling up in Alison's eyes. Her sister had always been the more emotional of the family, with Rachel as the tough one and Dominic as the simpleton. " It's not your fault. I couldn't tell you most of the details. That's how it goes with investigations because you don't know where it will go."

Alison sat down heavily. Janet and Gill caught Rachel's eye. She wanted them to go so then she could speak to Alison. " We'll be off then," Gill said, picking up her coat and her handbag. " You'll be okay, right kid?"

Rachel smiled, and Gill bent down to kiss her on the cheek. Janet followed suit. " See ya, pal."

" Give my love to the girls and Dorothy." Rachel said to Janet quietly, who smiled. Taisie and Elise had been badgering their mother to visit Rachel for a while now. Dorothy...Janet honestly had no idea what it was about her friend that repulsed her mother, but at least with Rachel in hospital after uncovering such a sinister case...Janet walked out of the room to her car, her mind on Rachel and on the case. Being a police officer had shown Janet how disgusting human beings could be, but never would she have suspected someone like Andy doing something so evil. As always whenever she thought about the innocent girls he and his gang had taken, thoughts of Taisie and Elise sprang to mind, and the girls horror when they realised the same thing could've happened to them as well, Rachel's screams of pain as Andy beat her for even thinking about it, it made Janet wonder what had been going through the deranged lunatics mind. But there was worse to come; Gill had hesitantly asked if Janet could question Andy, the last thing she wanted. She didn't know what she would feel if she looked into his eyes, what she would say to him, what she wanted to say to him after learning what he'd done. This was the bastard who'd said he'd done it all for her, and that made it worse for Janet to comprehend. What in the world had possessed Andy to think she would simply accept what he'd done? Kidnapping girls and turning them into whores was something Janet Scott, a deeply moral woman, hated. How could Andy not know that?

What would Rachel do? She'd already confronted Andy in her own flat, a place outside work and therefore not safe. It wasn't her fault, she'd had no idea who was there with her until it was too late. You didn't need to be Sherlock Holmes of Miss Marple to guess the real reasons behind Andy's visit; he'd gone round there to kill Rachel no matter what she knew.

What would Rachel do? Her mind repeated. The answer came to her at once; she would want to get to the very bottom of the case, find out what Andy had done and damn the personal pain, but if Janet walked into an interview room where Andy was sitting at the opposite end of the table then she would need to draw upon all her years of experience to stop herself from lashing out. Like Rachel, Janet had once been impudent and impatient with questioning suspects, it was only time that had shaped her into the interviewer she was today. Rachel was already learning, thanks to example, but her best friend had a weapon; she could see things in words and actions, body language, and make guesses into what made someone tick. She would use that against the suspect, and the best thing was Rachel could manipulate someone into telling her the truth without them realising until the last moment. It was a Machiavellian type of questioning, but it got results, but Rachel would never accuse an innocent man of anything without significant proof.

Janet sighed as she ventured into the car park. Rachel would question Andy, no matter what, ask him questions. Janet paused as she opened the car. _Could I question him, after everything he's done? To those girls, to Rachel? _

Still troubled, Janet got into the car and drove home.

With the two sisters alone, Alison and Rachel found they didn't know where to start. Finally Rachel said. " I'm not surprised you said that to me over the phone. You had every right to be angry with me."

Tears trickled down Alison's face. " But, Rach-"

Enough. Rachel's patience was beginning to snap. " No, Ali I had no idea what I was doing. I was looking at a case that horrified me because it had been done so carefully. Our Holly had gone in way over her head when she should've told someone, told me."

" You were never there," the moment the words left her mouth Alison wished she could suck them back in. Rachel closed her eyes and gave the best nod she could. " I know," she replied. " But Holly was twelve years old, she was more than capable of picking up a phone, or email me. She had my email address, and my phone number. She could've called but she didn't, and that annoyed me. It still does to an extent."

Alison sighed.

" What're you doing about the funeral?" Rachel asked. This was the real part of the conversation she really wanted to speak about. Alison was hesitant, but she told her sister. Yes, she had considered cremation, but she'd been talked out of it.

" Thank god for that," Rachel said in relief. Seeing her sister's confusion, she explained. " Do you remember when I had our father cremated?" She refused to say the word " dad."

Alison nodded. " It was because I didn't have any decent memories of him, not any I would like to repay by having him in a graveyard."

" But he was our dad-" Alison protested. " Doesn't mean anything, not anymore," Rachel snapped, it had the affect of mercifully shutting her sister up.

" Far as I'm concerned he was a drunk who was more of the sperm donor who hung round. You know he gambled, Ali, I'm surprised he didn't get desperate enough to sell us to a pimp, even you've gotta admit he was moral enough not to go that far."

It had been a problem growing up. It was lucky that Alison had been old enough to drop out of school and go into work to earn a living, bringing back enough cash to put food on the table, keep the electricity, gas and water circulating. Life was tight then, but sometimes Rachel had been worried that their father would go too far, and have a debt that would take more money than Alison could bring in, and their father would sell his daughters into prostitution. It was a fear that had been with Rachel until the day she'd joined the police, and until now she'd had it firmly out of her mind.

This business with Holly and the other girls had brought that fear back.

* * *

When Janet had gotten home, she found the house quiet with the lights on. Part of her wished Ade was here, but if he had been then she would need to watch him, hear him say nothing despite her attempts to talk with him. Janet missed Adrian to a point, but it was a smallish point. Their marriage had been in decline for years, and there had been nothing they could do about any of it. They'd both known it, and they'd made every attempt to try and make the best of it, for the sake of the girls.

Now Adrian was out. Part of Janet felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, but now a greater weight was on her shoulders.

Deciding what to do about Andy.

She found some Shepherds pie with gravy sloshed over some peas and carrots in the microwave, a note on the side telling her she should get some sleep. Janet smiled at the note her mother had written though it didn't reach her eyes.

As Janet was waiting for the microwave to ping with her meal, she poured herself some wine, grabbed her notebook and pen and wrote down the pros and cons of talking to Andy. She kept an ear out for her meal, and when she was eating it she became engrossed with writing and eating she didn't notice someone coming close to her.

She almost had a heart attack when her mother opened her mouth. " I thought the note said you should get some sleep," she said pointedly.

Janet yelped. " Don't do that!" she chided her mother, one hand over her chest. " Fucking hell, you scared me."

Dorothy was taken aback by Janet's surprise. " Sorry, love," she held up a hand to shut her daughter up, and to stop her from waking up the girls. She took a seat. " What're you doing?"

Rachel had once inadvertently caused a court case to be thrown out because she'd told Nick Fucking Savage things, something Janet never did. She kept her home life and professional life strictly private, but this was different. Janet sighed. " I've been asked to interview Andy."

Dorothy was already aware of the case, and was immediately advising Janet not to. " After what he's done?"

" Because of what he's done," Janet replied forcefully. " Mum, he practically admitted too murdering Holly, and he tried to kill Rachel, and he almost succeeded. I wanted to refuse when Gill asked me-"

" Gill? Gill asked you to interview him?!"

Janet sighed; her mother seemed to favour Gill, but she didn't understand that her boss couldn't be her friend all the time. " Mum, Gill understands only too well if I refuse, she can draft another person to interview Andy, like Lee or Pete, but I'm the best interviewer she's got. Aside from Rachel, but Rachel's in a hospital bed thanks to Andy. Gill won't do the interview because she likes to observe them, and make her own deductions from a different point of view."

All this was too much for Janet, and she got to her feet and started to pace. " You have no idea what this case has done to me, to Gill, to Rachel, and the team. It's landed my best friend in hospital with a bullet in her hip, leg and head, and it's shaken the team because of what Andy has done for christ knows how many years.

" It's shaken me and Gill to the core; Gill because it was her own sergeant, someone she thought she could trust, but when she saw the picture of Holly, she didn't make the connection like I did. Rachel identified the body there and then. Could you imagine how Rachel must have felt, going to work to see a picture of a dead girl who happens to be her niece? Later Gill watched as Holly spoke from a DVD she'd recorded, and she watched Rachel break down in tears. Rachel never breaks down in tears, mum. She tries so hard to project a facade of hardness, but she's still a person at heart. Gill stood up for Rachel to Andy after giving Rach permission to find out what happened because technically it was personal."

Janet sighed. " Gill and Rachel were later attacked by two thugs who knew where the latter was, and later she had to listen as her own DS confessed to what he'd done, then she watched the bastard saunter into the office before we confronted him and he tried to escape before his victim attacked him."

" For me this case has been an eye opener," Janet looked at her mother with empty eyes. Dorothy shivered at it. " Andy did all this, for me, because he loves me," she sneered at the word. " Love? Does he really think I'd accept what he'd done to those girls, to their families? If he did, then he hasn't got his brain wired up properly."

Dorothy was silent. She hadn't expected all this, this outpouring from her daughter. Who would've imagined it would all have started if Holly Bailey hadn't played detective, a game she didn't understand? She didn't like Rachel for two reasons. One she was a bad, corrupting influence on Janet and her granddaughters; her daughter had never been much of a drinker before meeting Rachel, now look at her. She was drinking from the bottle, and it was now half empty!

The second reason was jealousy; jealousy for the relationship she had with Janet and the girls. Rachel was like a second mother and a sister rolled into one with the girls, and she was able to talk and relate to them in ways neither Dorothy and Janet could. With the girls, Rachel acted like an overgrown teenager, but with Janet she was like a younger sister but also someone who could get through to Janet in ways Dorothy had never been able to do since her daughter had been younger.

It was being a police officer that had turned Janet into a more harder person, Dorothy knew that, but it also made her less approachable. With Rachel or Gill, Janet had someone to confide in. Dorothy had no problem with Gill; she was a mother herself, diligent, hard working. She sometimes questioned Janet about why she never seemed to want to become like Gill; she already had the experience to become a Detective Chief Inspector, or Detective Superintendent, but Janet liked where she was. Dorothy was jealous of how opposite Rachel was; she wanted to be like Gill, no better, and Dorothy was affronted someone like Rachel would want something that someone like Janet didn't, and she had limited experience.

Unknown to Dorothy, Janet was watching her mother. She had good ideas about why her mother didn't like Rachel, but she wanted to be sure.

" Mum, are you jealous of Rachel?"

Dorothy jumped at the question. " No, why should I be?"

Too fast. Janet smiled at the lie. " Tell me the truth." Her tone broke no argument. Dorothy heard the tone, and frowned internally. But she relented because she wanted to voice what she felt.

" I'm afraid she might be taking you away from me." Dorothy winced; it just sounded so...petulant.

So much like Rachel.

Janet frowned. " What do you mean?"

Dorothy winced when she heard the anger in her daughter's voice. " Rachel wants to be like Gill when you don't, she gets on better with the girls than you or I."

Janet blinked. " That's it? Mum, I don't want to be a DCI, never have. It's better being a DC, or even a DS, but I'm not interested in rising higher than that. I love where I am. Rachel wants to be better than Gill because she's ambitious.

" She gets on with the girls because she's like a kid herself, but she's like a sister and daughter rolled into one with me. She knows the difference," Janet was saying as she washed up and prepared to get to bed. Her empty bed. No matter.

When she was finished she saw her mother was thinking over what her daughter had just said. " Take my advice, mum, move on from it. It's not fair to any of us, you included. Rachel will never take me away from you. You're the woman who raised me, not her and certainly not Gill. Thanks for dinner."

Dorothy watched as her daughter left, and sat in the dark with nothing but her own thoughts for company.


	8. Chapter 8

**Rachel Plays with Fire. **

**Questioning and Recovering. **

Heart pounding, Janet walked slowly towards the interview room, clutching the portfolio in her arms to her chest as though it were a lifeline. She barely noticed Mitch as he followed her because her thoughts were inward. Janet had spoken to Rachel about the idea of questioning Andy, laid out the pros and cons of the idea. Rachel was aware of the history between the two, and she knew how much of this Janet was finding stressful.

After listening to her best friend talk about it, Rachel had told her it was her choice. Janet had been surprised by how Rachel seemed nonchalant about her questioning Andy and commented on it. Rachel had sharply told her she was anything but; she would have loved nothing more than to question Andy herself, but if she did that she would be more than likely to punch him in the face for what he'd done.

" Jan," Rachel had whispered; with her head feeling like humpty dumpty, a whisper was the only way she could communicate at the moment. It was frustrating for Rachel, but it was the all she could muster. " I went into this to get justice for Holly, what I found was something worse and that bastard was at the centre of it. If I could I would get out of this bed, and question him myself. I can't."

" That's the thing," Janet had replied. " Can I speak to him without losing my cool? After everything he's done?"

Rachel had closed her eyes. For a moment Janet was sure Rachel was asleep, but she wasn't. " Jan," Rachel said, her eyes still closed. " I can't force you, but ask yourself something; how much control do you suppose Andy had over the miserable excuses for human beings who worked for him? Suppose they took Taisie, or Elise? Suppose Andy didn't find out about it? This gangs been around for a long time, Jan. I think you should question him. If you avoid it, then you'll probably regret it. I can see you want answers as much as I do."

Janet wasn't sure if Rachel had deliberately manipulated her, but her friend had said the magic words that persuaded her to go to Gill, and agree to question Andy. Her majesty had taken it well, and with relief. She was scared, though. Andy had been the love of her life or so she'd thought, but he was more of a sweetheart than a genuine love interest. Janet had listened to the recording Rachel had made when Andy had visited her, how he hadn't had anything to offer her in a relationship. Janet didn't believe in material possessions, never had and never would. She valued friendships, honesty, and love. Andy was delusional if he believed Janet would simply accept what he had done just like that. When she approached the door, she glanced at Mitch. The big man watched her kindly, knowing she was hesitant for a good reason.

" How do you feel about this?" she asked.

Mitch sighed. " I'll be glad when its over," he admitted. The strain of this latest case coupled with what Andy had done to Holly and Rachel had made all the officers in Syndicate 3 over stressed. The idea of one of their own, their own sergeant...

" Me too," Janet replied. " Watch my back?"

Mitch nodded with a smile. " Always."

Janet steeled herself, smiled shakily at Mitch, and opened the door.

Andy was sitting next to his solicitor. He looked a far cry from the immaculately dressed sergeant Mitch and Janet remembered; he was dressed in drab clothes, and the way his head was bowed dejectedly made him look pathetic, but Janet knew from long experience that the body language wasn't shame or remorse; it was more likely Andy was accepting the fact he'd been found out.

Janet didn't wait for Andy to look up at her or Mitch as they walked into the interview room; they just took their places and waited. Andy was barely moving, but Janet could hear his breathing.

" Hello Andy," Janet said softly, bored to death of this sad little game.

That got a reaction. Andy dropped the pathetic act, if it was an act, and his head shot up at once at the sound of Janet's voice.

" Janet," Andy breathed.

Janet was silent for a moment, watching Andy. There was a sort of...fanatical gleam in the former police officers eyes, a sort of twisted love, though Janet knew now Andy didn't understand what love truly was. The emotion in Andy's eyes was something else. Obsession. With her.

" It's good to see you," Andy said to fill the suddenly uncomfortable silence. In his mind Janet was a warm, kind, motherly woman who was instantly soft and understanding with everyone she met. Why was she being cold to him? He genuinely didn't understand it.

" Is it?" Janet replied before she got down to the basics of interview prep, doing her best to sound professional and not give into the urge to leap over and punch this piece of scum in the face. The image of Rachel's face, Holly's dead body, pale from death, the thought of those innocent schoolgirls who had been suffering for god knew how long, and the faces of her own daughters kept her under control.

When Janet began the interview, she became more confident. This was her job, her element. Andy surprisingly answered the questions she asked, knowing better than to bluff. Janet was a bit startled by how cooperative Andy was being, how forthright he was, how unhesitant he was when he spoke. He kept trying to meet her eyes during the first few minutes but he gave up, and though she looked back at him he would look away at how cold and hurt she was. For herself Janet didn't give a fuck what Andy was feeling when he saw the coldness in her eyes, she was just pleased by the peace she was getting. She was tempted to ask Andy why he was being so cooperative, but she decided against it. They were going so well and Andy might stop answering her questions if she called him up on it.

Mitch sat noting down relevant details, but he kept watch on Andy in case the former police officer tried anything stupid. Like Janet he was a bit surprised by how easy this was going, and he couldn't help but wonder if Andy was leading them on. They'd find out soon enough. Andy was giving them the names and details of the thugs he had working for him, so they would check up on them later when they got the information out.

After three hours Janet decided to take a break.

She had to find Gill.

The DCI was just coming to the interview room to speak to Janet.

" That seems too easy to me," Gill remarked to Janet.

" Yeah," Janet agreed. " We'll know soon enough if he's leading us on when we check out his contacts."

Gill nodded.

" I haven't reached the points where everything started to go wrong; Holly and Rachel," Janet went on quietly.

Gill was silent for a bit. The subject for the murder and attempted murder of niece and aunt was a sore one for Gill because she wanted answers herself.

" You'll have to sit down and let the questions come to mind, Janet," Gill replied at last. She winced, hoping she could give her friend some better advice, but she couldn't.

Determinedly Janet walked back into the interview room.

" That wasn't even five minutes," Andy protested. For the first time Janet took a proper look at him. His time in custody had aged him. His hair had becoming grey, but a dignified grey, now his hair was unkempt and uncared for the grey made him look years older than he naturally was. His face was more lined with stress lines. At one time, she'd admired his good looks, but now...

Janet shook her head. " You murdered Holly Bailey, who happened to be the niece of DC Rachel Bailey. Can you talk us through that?"

Professionalism was her only shield against the pain she felt. She'd cared for Andy, loved him, admired him. To think he could contemplate doing what he had, for some deluded belief she would love him for it...

Andy's face became stony. " Ah I see, concerned about the airhead?" he said making Janet take stock of the interview once more.

It took all of Janet's training not to lash out at Andy. She took a couple of deep breaths to control her anger before realising she could strike back, but not physically. " It's not just my best friend," she held back the urge to smirk when Andy winced. He'd always thought he was the only one to be her best friend, forgetting about Gill, Julie and Rachel. " It's about what you did to her niece. You do know Holly wasn't even thirteen years old. She was just getting started on life, something you took from her." Real anger appeared on her face for the first time, and Andy shrank in his seat.

Satisfied he knew she was in no mood for verbal bantering, Janet slipped back into her professional persona.

" Now, what happened with Holly?" Janet asked.

Andy sneered. " Is that how it's going to be, Janet? What happened with little Holly Bailey, the little bitch who ruined everything? Like her good for nothing aunt?" The solicitor next to him coughed, but Andy ignored him. " Okay. We first noticed Holly's presence when we caught glimpses of a girl that wasn't one of ours near the girls we'd picked up. She was asking them questions, taking pictures. Finally she took a shot of me when she caught a glimpse of my face.

" I started hunting her down, carefully of course," Andy carried on; the lack of remorse making Janet shiver. " Finally I found her, and I found out where she lived."

" But you didn't bother to check who she was, did you?" Janet pointed out. She couldn't help but wonder that if he had bothered to use his police contacts then maybe Rachel wouldn't be in hospital, and Holly wouldn't be dead...

But those girls would still be prostitutes.

" No," Andy replied a little sadly though it wasn't a remorseful sorry. " I started watching her. When she went jogging one day I took my chance, and I shot her."

Janet had a hard time controlling her anger. Sitting in front of her was someone she'd once trusted, foolish enough to have a thing for, and he'd just matter of factly told her how he'd murdered an innocent girl who was merely trying to dredge up the truth.

Andy's voice interrupted her thoughts. " Janet," he said. " You know I did it all for you, right?"

Janet sighed. She didn't want this to be part of the record. When this went through to court and parents heard it then they would wonder if she was an accomplice, and the last thing she wanted was for people to be suspicious and resentful of her. What about Dorothy, and the girls?

" Did you?" Janet replied, deciding to put this bastard out of her misery. " Andy, I honestly dunno where you got the idea I'd be grateful to you for making money. When I love someone, that's what's important to me. Money and possessions mean nothing to me, and if you think for one moment-" Janet stopped. Andy would never understand, it would be a mistake for her to try and make him see that pertinent fact. If Andy had truly loved her, he would have known she wasn't interested in things, but reality. She loved Ade for giving her daughters, and that relationship had fallen apart because of the incompatibility between her and Ade. Andy wasn't compatible with her either, and to think she'd dated him recently! He'd made that clear enough to her when he started this mess in the first place; what had he been thinking? Did he really think that she would simply swoon over him whilst girls older and younger than Elise and Taisie were sold like meat to people for sex?

* * *

Rachel was going out of her mind which was an improvement because her head was still incredibly painful. Since she'd woken up, she'd been recovering more quickly but she was still confined to bed. Shit.

The only reprieve had been the people who actually came to visit her, the nurses and the doctors, but those visits were few and far between, but at least she had a basic conversation with another human being, brief as it was, for the sake of her own sanity. Janet, Gill and anyone else from the office hadn't come so far today, but Rachel wasn't worried. She knew the others had their hands full with questioning Andy.

Rachel grimaced as she thought about Andy. She could still barely take it in and he'd shot her, attacked her in her own flat, and he'd murdered her niece. Thoughts on the funeral were not far from her mind when she thought about Holly; Alison had told her the funeral was on hold until Rachel was back on her feet and away from the hospital. Rachel didn't blame her; she wasn't going to miss this funeral. Not like her fathers, Rachel would be forever grateful for Janet calling her out on a case when that dreaded day had turned up. Plus Alison hadn't spoken to her in a while. No, that was unfair. Despite their...occasional disagreements, Rachel loved her sister. Besides she owed it to Holly's memory to go.

The door opened, making Rachel look up, thinking it was the nurse again.

It wasn't.

Taisie and Elise crept in cautiously, expecting her to be asleep. When they saw she was awake, they brightened.

" Rachel!"

Rachel smiled as best she could. " Hi girls."

Taisie shot forwards and hugged Rachel, Elise following close behind though more reservedly than her sister.

" How are you doing, Rach?" Taisie asked.

Glad for the opportunity to be dramatic, Rachel sighed. " Desperate to get out of this bed. Ever since I woke up this bed's been the only thing I've known, but now I'm more aware I just wanna get out and about."

" How's the hip?" Elise asked.

" Not as bad as the head, I can tell ya," Rachel replied. " They managed to get the bullet out okay, and patch the skull up with a metal plate. But my head feels like its splitting. Don't ask me what the hip's like, love. Until I get on my feet I don't know."

" You will be able to walk again, right?" Taisie asked.

" If I have anything to say about it, yes," Rachel replied grimly. The thought she might not be able to walk again was one of her irrational fears.

" Can I speak with Rachel for a moment, girls, please?" For the first time Rachel noticed who had come with the girls. Dorothy, their grandmother. Rachel felt her insides clench. The two of them had never gotten along despite Rachel's best efforts to impress.

When they had first met, Rachel had been on her best behavior, wearing her best dress and all that, making sure to be as polite and friendly as she could, but Dorothy either had some bizarre standards, or she saw something she didn't like that Janet and the girls were oblivious too. At least Rachel had done her best.

Rachel tried to hide her apprehension as Taisie and Elise left the room. Her shields had gone, leaving her with the Klingon Bird of Prey.

Dorothy stood there, watching Rachel.

" Hello Rachel," she said.

Rachel quirked a brow. " Hi," she replied back. " I wasn't expecting to see you," she added. It was possibly the worst thing she could say, but Rachel's head was in pain, she was confined to this bed, and she wasn't Dorothy to get to the point.

" No," Dorothy replied. " I didn't expect to see you either, but I wanted to. You see," she paused to gather her thoughts. " Do you mind if I'm frank with you?"

Rachel blinked. " I'll be annoyed if you don't." That was a polite way of saying ' get to the fucking point already, you miserable old bitch.'

Dorothy's lips quirked into a small smile, knowing what Rachel had just said so tactfully. She wasn't annoyed. Rachel had just stepped into her trap.

" I don't like you, Rachel," Dorothy said. Rachel's eyes popped open, making the older woman laugh. " Yeah, yeah," Rachel griped, " get to the point already."

" I don't like the way you corrupt my daughter and grand daughters," Dorothy began honestly. Rachel's eyes widened, is that what Dorothy thought she was doing?

" Before she met you, Janet never was much of a drinker," Dorothy carried on, " now she swills wines down by the bottleful."

If the conversation wasn't so direct then Rachel might have laughed, but this conversation wasn't a humorous one. Besides she didn't feel like laughing in her present mood frame.

" Then there's the way Elise and Taisie have been since they met you," Dorothy carried on. Rachel was starting to wonder if she was paranoid.

" What do you mean?" Rachel asked, genuinely interested to know what her opinion was even if she disagreed with it.

Dorothy wasn't expecting Rachel to be so calm about this, but she plodded on. " Now Elise is sullen, a bit sulky, she's also more interested in her looks, and Taisie's begun imitating you."

" No, she isn't," Rachel interrupted though she knew Dorothy was telling a partial truth. Taisie thought of Rachel as if she was Lady Gaga, but Rachel knew it wasn't that. " The girls are growing up, Dorothy, and there is nothing you can do to stop that from happening. Elise is acting like a typical teen. She's still the same person, hard working, and I thank god for that. Taisie's more outgoing, and I love her for that. It's what makes her her. She's nothing like me."

" Then why is she miming smoking?" Dorothy shot back.

Rachel groaned, and leant back into her cushions. She didn't need this shit now. " I dunno," she replied honestly. " It might be a phase."

" Then again it might not!" Dorothy shot back, but she backpeddled when she saw Rachel wince at the volume of her voice.

" Keep it down, will ya?" Rachel spat angrily; her patience was nearly at breaking point, and Janet's mother or not Rachel wasn't going to let this woman drive her to murder.

" Sorry," Dorothy replied.

" Don't keep me in suspense," Rachel replied impatiently. " Go on, tell me what else have I done."

Dorothy had a list.


End file.
